Leslie Gulch

BLM Know Before You Go and Etter’s groundsel). Grimy ivesia, sterile milkvetch, and Most of the area is composed of Wilderness Study Areas. Owyhee clover are rare perennials found at a few isolated sites To preserve the wilderness values that make this area so in the canyon. remarkable, please remember: Leslie Gulch . Camping and fi res are limited to Slocum Creek Wildlife campground. Camping is limited to 14 days. In 1965, 17 California . Overnight backpackers must camp outside of the bighorn sheep were Area of Critical Environmental Concern. reintroduced into Leslie . All motorized vehicles and bicycles are limited to Gulch. The herd has existing roads and parking areas. expanded to over 200 . Horses and other domestic livestock are not allowed animals. Mule deer and in the Area of Critical Environmental Concern. Rocky Mountain elk . The collection of vegetation, rock materials, and are also found in the fi rewood is not permitted. area. Bird watchers can spot chukar, numerous song birds, . No drinking water is available. raptors, California quail, northern fl ickers, and white-throated . Toilets are distributed along the road and at Slocum swifts. Coyotes, bobcats, bats, and many reptiles, including Creek campground. rattlesnakes, also live in Leslie Gulch. Avoid wet road conditions. High-clearance vehicles are recommended. Large recreation vehicles are Cultural not recommended. Flash fl ood events and winter Native Americans fi shed, hunted, and camped along the conditions can make the road inaccessible. Owyhee River in Leslie Gulch 5,000 years before Europeans came to the area. In 1882, a cattle rancher, Hiram E. Leslie, Geology was struck by lightning while working in what was then The most striking features of Leslie Gulch are the diverse known as Dugout Gulch; thus, the area was renamed Leslie and often stark, towering and colorful geologic formations. Gulch. The original Leslie Gulch Canyon Road long served The Leslie Gulch Tuff (consolidated volcanic ash), makes up as a wagon and mail route between Rockville and Watson. the bulk of these formations. It is a rhyolite ash that erupted Today, the town of Watson lies at the bottom of the Owyhee from the Mahogany Mountain caldera (a large volcanic Reservoir. depression which encompasses Leslie Gulch) in a series of violent explosions about 15.5 million years ago. Much of the Directions to the Site material fell back into the volcano as a gaseous deposit of fi ne The site is located east of the Owyhee Reservoir in Malheur ash and rock fragments up to 1,000 feet thick. About 100,000 County, Oregon. From Highway 95 in Idaho, go west 8 miles years later, volcanic eruptions from the Three Fingers caldera, on McBride Creek Road to Rockville, then 1 mile north to located several miles to the northeast, deposited another layer Leslie Gulch Road and 15 miles west; or take Succor Creek of rhyolite tuff in Leslie Gulch. Today, the tuff is beautifully Road from either Oregon Highway 201 or US Highway 95 to displayed as steep slopes and vertical, honeycombed towers the Leslie Gulch Road junction. carved over time. Vale District Vale Recreational Activities District Contact Information Slocum Creek campground has 12 campsites. Picnic tables are also available. A concrete boat ramp provides Owyhee Vale District Reservoir access for small water craft. Hiking, photography, Burueau of Land Management plant and wildlife viewing are all popular activities in this 100 Oregon Street unique canyon setting. Take caution and be prepared for ticks, Vale, OR 97918 rattlesnakes, and extreme weather conditions. (541) 473-3144 Wildfl owers The talus slopes and unique soils of Leslie Gulch support a www.blm.gov/or/districts/vale number of rare plant species. Two annual species are found only in the Leslie Gulch drainage (Packard’s blazing star BLM/OR/WA/GI-08/083+1122.32 Wlcm t Li Glc Twn cff s te d r u n hn ce c rmis scpte vr is ers r t lnscp t s m egi . Mr th 11,000 acr nde by t tr es Li, Slc, Jpr, Dag, n Rn ay Glc r nage by t Bre Ln Mnagm s Are Cc Evrmt Cncr t r e t ttnng scnry n ht Cfri ighr n vr r l p i ..

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