The Alvord Desert is a desert in the southeastern part of the American state of Oregon. It lies loosely southeast of Steens Mountain, and has almost no life. In the summer, the surface is flat enough to drive across, or land small planes.

The Alvord is a 12 by 7 mile playa, a dry lake bed, and averages 7 inches of rain a year. Three mountain ranges separate it from the Pacific Ocean—the Coastal Range, the Cascade Mountains, and Steens Mountain, thus it is in a rain shadow.

Alvord Hotsprings is on the west edge of the playa,

External links and references

• One site (http://donb.furfly.net/malheur/places/alvorddesert.html)
• Portland State University site (http://web.pdx.edu/~ruzickaa/UNST421/spring01class/geology/AlvordDesert.html)