Oregon High Desert (1/10)

Named due to the fact that it is indeed a desert and it has an altitude of mostly over 4,000 feet, the eastern part of Oregon is the Oregon High Desert. Not all of it is as barren as shown in this picture, but this is a place of sagebrush, rabbitbrush, saltbush, scrub pine, juniper, and desert grasses. All of these can be seen in this picture.

Much of it is flat. Here, you are looking out over a vista of about 20 miles. Many people think of Oregon as a rainy place, but most of it is decidedly neither rainy or snowy.

It is far from being devoid of life, though. This is home to deer, elk, pronghorns, squirrels, diamondback rattlesnakes, gophers, and jack hares. Pronghorns are especially at home here, since they can see danger from a great distance and have level land to run on. This is in part what makes them arguably the fastest land animal.

Over the distance of a half mile, a cheetah is faster than a pronghorn. However, pronghorns can maintain high speeds for distances such as is shown. In a race with a cheetah over the distance in the picture, the pronghorn would easily win and would be ready to run again in a very short time.