Alvord Desert facts for kids
The Alvord Desert is a special kind of desert found in southeastern Oregon, in the western United States. It's located in a place called Harney County. This desert is mostly a huge, flat area that used to be a lake, but now it's dry.
This dry lake bed, also known as a "playa," is about 12 miles (19 km) long and 7 miles (11 km) wide. It gets very little rain, only about 7 inches (180 mm) each year. This makes it a very dry place!
The Alvord Desert is surrounded by mountains. Two large mountain ranges stand between it and the Pacific Ocean. These are the Coast Range and the Cascade Mountains. These mountains block most of the rain clouds coming from the ocean. This is why the Alvord Desert stays so dry.
The desert floor is quite high up, sitting at about 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) above sea level. It lies southeast of a large mountain called Steens Mountain. The flat, open space of the Alvord Desert is sometimes used for land speed records because it's so smooth and wide.
Images for kids
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Setting sun reflected off the playa
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Steens Mountain to the northwest from the Alvord Desert
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Close-up of the surface, June 2018
See also
In Spanish: Desierto de Alvord para niños
