Jordan Craters Wilderness
Cow Lakes Road, off US-95
Jordan Valley, OR
One of the youngest lava flows in Oregon, a field of ropy black basalt spread across the empty Owyhee desert around a single dark crater.
Jordan Craters is one of the youngest volcanic landscapes in Oregon, a field of black basalt that spread across the Owyhee desert only a few thousand years ago, so recently that in places it looks as though it cooled last week. At its center is Coffeepot Crater, the steep-sided vent that poured out the whole flow, and around it lies square mile after square mile of ropy, glittering, jet-black rock.
Almost nobody comes here. The lava field sits far out in the emptiest corner of the state, reached by miles of gravel and dirt, which is exactly what makes it feel like a discovery. Stand on the flow at dusk, with no sound and no lights and the desert running to the horizon, and it is easy to believe you have the place, and the geology, entirely to yourself.
What Guests Love
- Walking out onto a black, ropy lava flow that looks freshly cooled
- Peering into the deep bowl of Coffeepot Crater, the vent that fed the whole field
- The total remoteness and dark, star-filled skies
- The strange spatter cones, lava tubes, and pressure ridges scattered across the flow
Worth Knowing
- This is genuinely remote high desert on rough gravel and dirt roads; carry water, food, a full tank, and a good spare tire, and check road conditions first
- The roads turn to impassable mud after rain and snow, so late spring through fall is the reliable window
- There are no services, no water, and no reliable phone signal, so come fully self-sufficient and tell someone your plan
- The lava is sharp and uneven, so wear sturdy boots and watch your footing, and give rattlesnakes room in warm weather
Details
Jordan Valley, OR
Learn about Jordan Craters Wilderness
A very young lava flow
Geologists estimate the Jordan Craters lava field is only a few thousand years old, one of the most recent volcanic events in Oregon, its age judged in part by how little lichen has managed to grow on the rock. The flow covers a broad area of dark olivine basalt, the kind of runny, low-silica lava that spreads out in smooth sheets rather than building tall cones.
That is why so much of it is pahoehoe, the ropy, wrinkled surface that forms when a thin skin cools over still-moving lava beneath. Walk the edges and you can read the flow like a frozen liquid: pressure ridges, collapsed lava tubes, and channels where the molten rock once ran. The whole field is managed by the Bureau of Land Management and studied as a small, well-preserved window into how basalt eruptions work.
Coffeepot Crater
The source of it all is Coffeepot Crater, a deep, steep-walled bowl that was the main vent for the eruption. It is the one feature you can drive close to, and standing on its rim you look down into the throat of the volcano that built the surrounding desert of stone.
Around the crater are smaller spatter cones, mounds of half-molten lava blobs that were thrown into the air and welded together as they fell. Where the flow ran into low ground it dammed the local drainage and pooled up two small ponds, the Cow Lakes, at the far end of the field, an odd splash of water at the edge of all that black rock.
Life in the Owyhee
This is Owyhee canyon country, a high, dry sagebrush sea broken by deep river gorges, one of the largest blocks of unroaded land left in the Lower 48. The wildlife is desert wildlife: pronghorn drifting across the flats, jackrabbits, coyotes, and raptors riding the wind, with bighorn sheep and mule deer in the nearby canyons.
The plant life is tough and sparse, sagebrush and bunchgrass with a scatter of wildflowers after the spring rains, slowly reclaiming the oldest edges of the lava. The emptiness is the point: few places in Oregon feel this far from anywhere.
Getting there and when to go
Jordan Craters lies roughly twenty miles northwest of the little town of Jordan Valley, reached by turning off the highway onto gravel and following it for many slow miles across the desert. A high-clearance vehicle is the safe choice, and conditions matter enormously: the dirt turns to gumbo mud when wet, and vehicles get badly stuck.
Late spring through fall is the practical season, avoiding both winter snow and the muddy shoulders of the year. Summer days are hot and exposed, so early and late in the day are best for walking the flow, and the dark, dry skies out here make it one of Oregon's great stargazing spots once the sun goes down. Come self-sufficient, and treat the remoteness with respect.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Jordan Valley
Leslie Gulch
About 40 miles northeast
A canyon of surreal honeycombed rock spires and cliffs dropping to the Owyhee Reservoir, one of the most spectacular and least-known corners of Oregon.
Succor Creek State Natural Area
About 45 miles north
A rugged canyon of cliffs and creek along a gravel back road, popular with rockhounds hunting thundereggs and agate.
Jordan Valley
About 20 miles southeast
A tiny high-desert ranching town near the Idaho line, with a historic Basque heritage and the last services for many miles.