The Long Way
Baker and Malheur counties County
Two birds walking across a gravel road beside a dry hillside and green bushes.
Plate I. Chukars on Snake River-Mormon Basin Back Country Byway. From blm.gov
Hay field along Snake River-Mormon Basin Byway.
Plate II. Hay field along Snake River-Mormon Basin Byway. Photograph by BLM Oregon & Washington, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Snake River-Mormon Basin Back Country Byway.
Plate III. Snake River-Mormon Basin Back Country Byway. Photograph by BLM Oregon & Washington, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Snake River-Mormon Basin Back Country Byway landscape.
Plate IV. Snake River-Mormon Basin Back Country Byway landscape. Photograph by BLM Oregon & Washington, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Snake River-Mormon Basin Back Country Byway.
Plate V. Snake River-Mormon Basin Back Country Byway. Photograph by BLM Oregon & Washington, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Cattle along Snake River-Mormon Basin Back Country Byway.
Plate VI. Cattle along Snake River-Mormon Basin Back Country Byway. Photograph by BLM Oregon & Washington, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Snake River-Mormon Basin Back Country Byway

Baker City, Baker and Malheur counties County, Oregon. Back country byway.

Details

Map. Baker City, Baker and Malheur counties County, Oregon. Larger map
Where
Baker City, Baker and Malheur counties County, OR. No street address stated. Directions
Getting there
From Baker City, Oregon: Use this online map to navigate the byway.
Fees
No fees.
Access
The byway includes a variety of remote paved, gravel and earthen surface roads; care should be taken in planning travels after weather events or during the winter season.
Phone
541-523-1256
Website
blm.gov
Managed by
Bureau of Land Management.
Coordinates
44.81098300000000, -117.74358700000001.

A 150-mile byway through the rangelands of eastern Oregon's Baker and Malheur counties, with options for high-clearance two-wheel drive vehicles. Steep canyons, prominent cliffs, and rock outcrops line the route.

Notable Events

  1. 1800sHistoric wagon roads crossed the area, where ranching, mining, logging, and homesteading occurred in the late nineteenth century. blm.gov
  2. 1863Mr. Ingraham and two partners did the camp's first sluicing in spring 1863 and took out $65 per day per person. oregongenealogy.com
  3. 1867Miners rushed into Mormon Basin after gold was discovered in 1867. oregonencyclopedia.org
  4. 1870sAmelia City was among the first mining settlements established as miners moved south of Mormon Basin in the 1870s. oregonencyclopedia.org
  5. 1900Amelia City disappeared from maps after 1900 and was presumably deserted. oregonencyclopedia.org

People

  • Charles Stubley, Dug the first ditch from Glengary Gulch to Sunburnt Flat.
  • Mr. Getchell, Mormon Basin miner who made as much as $200 per day with a rocker.
  • Mr. Ingraham, Early Mormon Basin claimant and sluicer (1863).

Sources

  1. blm.gov/visit/snake-river-mormon-basin-back-country-byway
  2. recreation.gov/gateways/10155240
  3. oregongenealogy.com/baker/years/basin.htm
  4. oregon.gov/dogami/milo/pages/ohmi-malheur.aspx
  5. oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/amelia_city