Fort Rock

Fort Rock is a volcanic tuff ring in Oregon's high desert, Lake County, on an Ice Age lake bed. Its walls rise about 300 feet (roughly 90 metres); the ring formed tens of thousands of years ago (sources say 50,000 to over 100,000 years) when a volcano erupted beneath a shallow lake and deposited ash and tuff. A settler is said to have named it in 1873 while searching for his cattle.

A loop of about 1.1 miles (just under 1.8 kilometres), the Fort Rock Loop Trail, runs along the inside of the crater, and smaller paths climb closer to the walls. With luck you may spot bald eagles, red-tailed hawks and pronghorn.

In the nearby Fort Rock Cave, the archaeologist Luther Cressman found dozens of sagebrush sandals in 1938, about 9,000 years old, the oldest known footwear of Native Americans. Guided tours with a park ranger are offered in summer. Check opening hours, fees and tour dates in advance.