The
Oregon high desert is a region of the
U.S. state of
Oregon, located east of the
Cascade Range and south of the
Blue Mountains, in the
central and
eastern parts of the state. Divided into a southern region and a northern region, the desert covers most of five Oregon counties and averages above sea level. The southwest region is part of the
Great Basin and the southeast is the lower
Owyhee River watershed. The northern region is part of the
Columbia Plateau, where somewhat more rainfall allows the largest industry on private land to be the cultivation of
alfalfa and
hay. Public land within the region is owned primarily by the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which manages more than , including five rivers designated as
Wild and Scenic.