Oregon Country revisited -Newberry Crater

Central Oregon is well-known for its scenic wonders, many of which are associated with the volcanic activity that at one time caused great outpourings of smoke and lava onto the surrounding plateaus.

An immense feature that rarely fails to have a humbling effect when viewed for the first time is Newberry Crater, one of the world's largest calderas, situated about 25 miles south of Bend.

It was of Newberry that Dr. Thomas Condon, noted Oregon geologist, once remarked: "When I first visited that huge caldera, I had the familiar feeling of the tune inside me being too big for my whistle. It boggles the mind to consider the awesome eruptions that caused such a giant."

Newberry Crater is at an elevation of 6,400 feet, some 2,000 feet above the surrounding plains. The old volcano nestling the crater is 4,000 feet thick and 20 miles across, consisting of well-defined layers of basalt and rhyolite.

At one point Newberry rose an estimated 10,000 feet, and when the towering mountain collapsed, many fire cones broke open near the mountain's base, spilling lava for miles and miles around. As a geologist explained: "The top of Newberry collapsed to form the caldera at about the end of the Ice Age. Eventually, eruptions in the floor of the crater subsided and water collected, forming a large lake. Then came more volcanic activity, although not enough to liquefy the entire crater but forming a north-south line across the crater. This divided the single lake into two lakes, known today as East Lake and Paulina Lake, the latter named for a notorious Snake Indian chief."

Newberry Crater itself is named for Dr. John S. Newberry, a 19th Century geologist, paleontologist and physician. While practicing medicine in Cleveland, Newberry received an appointment as assistant surgeon on an 1850s expedition organized to explore Oregon country between San Francisco and the Columbia River for the proposed Pacific Railroad. Dr. Newberry later was associated with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. and Columbia University, New York, where he was instrumental in organizing the School of Mines.

Dr. I.C. Russell, a fellow geologist who mapped much of Central Oregon in 1903 for the U.S. Geological Survey, said of his colleague: "As a scientist, Newberry was of old school. He was a general naturalist rather than a specialist and as a child had a large collection of fossilized plants and fish. In my judgment, the entire area around the crater should be called the Newberry Mountains and the highest point Newberry Peak, and that shall be my recommendation."

Russell's recommendation concerning the mountains and peak were not followed precisely, but the immense caldera honoring Newberry is a distinct memorial - though not without paradox. Dr. Newberry is represented by those who knew him best as having been of a cheerful and buoyant temperament, fond of companionship but with a sensitive and delicate spirit.

Such a personality seems in marked contrast to the hissing gas, belching smoke and exploding stone which created the ancient caldera that bears his name.

Author's note: These Oregon Country historical vignettes were first written for the radio program "Stories of Pacific Powerland." The facts upon which the tales are based are true, though some characters have been created for presentation in a narrative style.