Wallowa Mountains The Wallowa Mountains () are a mountain range located in the Columbia Plateau of northeastern Oregon in the United States. The range runs approximately northwest to southeast in southwestern Wallowa County and eastern Union County between the Blue Mountains to the west and the Snake River to the east. The range is sometimes considered to be an eastern spur of the Blue Mountains, and it is known as the "Alps of Oregon". Much of the range is designated as the Eagle Cap Wilderness, part of the Wallowa–Whitman National Forest. Geography The range is drained by the Wallowa River, which flows from the north side of the mountains, and its tributary the Minam River, which flows through the west side of the range. The Imnaha River flows from the east side of the range. The highest point in the range is Sacajawea Peak, which is above sea level. Sacajawea is the sixth highest mountain in Oregon and the state's highest peak outside of the Cascade Range. Geology Many geologists believe that the Wallowa Mountains in northeastern Oregon are a displaced fragment of the Insular Belt. The core of the Wallowas is composed of the Wallowa Batholith surrounded by Columbia River basalt. In addition there are many older terranes between the batholith and basalt flows. The Wallowa Batholith is formed of granite from a magma upwelling in Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous time (between 160 million and 120 million years ago). The placement of this rock caused uplift of the surface, which at the time was tropical sea. This is evident from the slate, quartzite, and marble present in the mountains, which come from metamorphism of the sedimentary deposits of oceans during the Triassic. At the center of the Batholith are granodioritic rocks, while the outer limits of the range are tonalitic. The granite batholith is cut by dikes; however, these are uncommon. Glaciers carved out the valleys during the late Pleistocene, which left a number of moraines. The series of moraines is formed by a series of glacial advances and retreats. Glacial till is also a common feature of the valleys. The melting of the glaciers produced a large quantity of water, which carried sediment to the valley bottoms, leaving delta deposits on top of the former deposits. Climate In the mountains, much precipitation falls as snow. Total snowfall peaks around March. Most precipitation in the area is orographic precipitation. Near the tops of the mountains, total annual precipitation can exceed per year, while in the valleys it can be as low as . Avalanches The Wallowa Mountains are a popular destination for backcountry skiers and snowmobilers. However, avalanches are a consistent threat to backcountry skiers and snowmobilers. In February 2014, two backcountry skiers were killed and two others were serious injured in the southern Wallowas near Cornucopia when an avalanche swept into a mountainside gully. On March 8, 2016 the local avalanche center director, Kip Rand, was killed backcountry skiing near the Hurwal Divide and Chief Joseph Peak (Mount Joseph) in an avalanche following the collapse of a large cornice. Ecology The higher precipitation of the mountains compared with the surrounding country has created a mesic habitat in the Wallowas. Vegetation in the region contains combinations of plants found in both the Rocky Mountains and the Cascades. At low elevations, Douglas fir is the most common tree for slopes, whereas Engelmann spruce and lodgepole pine occur in valley bottoms, with grand fir common below . In meadows and around springs and seeps, willows and sedge grow. Above , subalpine fir is dominant, and whitebark pine is often found