The Continental Zone Foothills ecoregion consists of foothills, hills, and scattered buttes lying between Oregon's Blue and Wallowa mountains and the northwestern Snake River Plain, at an elevation of 1,800 to 6,600 feet (550 to 2,010 m). The combined masses of the Cascade Range and the Blue and Wallowa mountains block any maritime influence, creating a continental climate. As a result, plants are subject to wide temperature ranges, high evapotranspiration, and high early-season moisture stress. The distribution of desert shrubs varies with soil depth, texture, and elevation. The sagebrush steppe features mountain-mahogany, bitterbrush, bluebunch wheatgrass, mountain big sagebrush, Idaho fescue, Wyoming big sagebrush, Sandberg bluegrass, and, on schist, Nevada greasebush. Scattered Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine forests also occur. The region provides important wildlife habitat. Mountain-mahogany and bitterbrush provide winter cover and forage for mule deer. Rodents, songbirds, and upland game birds also use the fruits of bitterbrush. The second largest of the Blue Mountains subregions, the Continental Zone Foothills is located in the easternmost part of the region, covering in Oregon and in Idaho.