Diamond Craters, a beautiful lava landscape in Eastern Oregon

Oregon's no stranger to volcanoes - the Cascade Range has plenty - but even if you've hiked through lava tubes or up the slopes of dormant mountains, odds are you've never seen anything quite like Diamond Craters.

The southeast Oregon scene is less majestic than the Cascades, but it makes up for the lack of grandeur with an intriguing display of volcanic features: a series of craters, cinder cones and calderas that show up suddenly in the otherwise desolate desert landscape.

"There is no other place in North America like Diamond Craters," a Bureau of Land Management brochure boasts. "That's the opinion held by scores of scientists and educators who have visited and studied the area."

The relatively small attraction features a diverse array of volcanic features, some that may sound familiar and others recognizable only to those with a deeper geological interest. But no matter your experience, it's well worth a side trip on your trip to Steens Mountain or the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Diamond Craters is certainly a unique sight in Oregon, and a perfect place to learn about the inner (and outer) workings of the Earth. Here's a brief guide to touring "Oregon's geologic gem."

Diamond Craters Drive

Distance: 23.5 miles
Amenities:
None

You can hike the desert around Diamond Craters, but the best way to see it is by car. The area is largely unmarked, but you can get there by taking Oregon Route 205 south past the Malheur refuge, following signs east to Diamond. Soon you'll see a sign for the Diamond Craters Outstanding Natural Area and a road that leads you north into it.

The area is a maze of dirt roads, the volcanic features marked only with numbered signs. You can drive yourself mad trying to navigate it on your own (I know from experience), so it's well worth downloading the auto tour brochure from the BLM, only available online.

The brochure offers all the science behind the features, which can be a little difficult to grasp. Basically, the craters formed sometime in the last 25,000 years, as molten basalt spilled forth from cracks in the earth. The lava flooded a lake bed, and before it cooled completely, more molten basalt came up underneath it, creating the six "structural domes" that make up the area.

As the molten basalt flowed, it interacted with the environment in several different ways, resulting in several different phenomena: Red Bomb Crater was formed by an explosive mix of lava and water; Malheur Maar is a small, spring-fed lake born out of a crater; driblet spires are simply accumulations of molten basalt, sprayed in thick globs into the air.

The brochure will lead you to 13 stops in all, each with a different origin story and look, giving both geologists and casual fans of rocks the opportunity to see a diverse landscape in the Oregon desert.

The auto tour will take a couple of hours to complete if you get out and walk around at each stop. If you don't have the time, Diamond Craters can make for a quick and fascinating side trip - at very least an opportunity to stare out at these geological wonders, a chance to contemplate the origins of land.

--Jamie Hale | jhale@oregonian.com | @HaleJamesB

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