John Day Basin

"This basin includes the Painted Hills, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, and Strawberry Mountain Wilderness, and contains one of the most significant undammed stream systems in the West. The economy is dependent on natural resource industries: forestry, ranching, and mining. Summer steelhead and bull trout are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. Nearly 40% of the basin is public land. Ponderosa pine forests in the Ochoco and Blue Mountains dominate the headwaters. The north and middle forks of the John Day meander through open meadow and prairie ranch land. The mainstem of the river below Spray flows through an incised canyon that bisects shrub-steppe and wheat ranches in the uplands before flowing into the Columbia River at the eastern end of its dramatic gorge.

Gold was discovered in Canyon Creek in 1862, and during the following gold rush, over $26 million in gold was mined in the John Day-Canyon City area. The hundreds of Chinese who came to work in the mines during this time added a unique flavor to the area's history. The Kam Wah Chung & Co. Museum in John Day recognizes their contribution to Oregon's heritage."

Content featured on the Oregon Explorer, "Learn about Places: John Day Basin" site, information compiled by science writing consultant John Ame.