Outback Scenic Byway
Fort Rock, OR

About 27 miles east of US Route 97, the forest abruptly gives way to vast sagebrush plains reminiscent of the Australian Outback. Like Australia's Ayer Rock, Oregon's Outback also has a mysterious rock formation that emerges from out of nowhere. Fort Rock is the remains of a volcano that looks like a giant citadel rising 325 feet above the plain. Fort Rock was formed by super-heated basalt magma roaring up through ground water as a boiling mud volcano, then cooling. It was formed some five to six million years ago. The ring of material left behind, called a maar, is the remains of this explosive event. Fort Rock Homestead Village features a living history museum in the summer. The museum is a showcase of what life was like for early settlers. Also found here are stories of courageous men and women who fought the cruel natural elements such as drought, unseasonable frost, and jackrabbits.