Blue Mountains

The Blue Mountains are a mountain range in the northwestern United States. The range has an area of about 15,000 square miles (39,000 km2). The Blue Mountains cover ten counties across two states. The mountains are unique as the home of the world’s largest living organism, a subterranean colonial mycelial mat of the fungus Armillaria ostoyae. The Blue Mountains were named after the color of the mountains when seen from a distance.

The public lands in the Blue Mountains are managed not only by the United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, but also by land owners and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

Location

Much of the range is included in the Malheur National Forest, Umatilla National Forest, and Wallowa–Whitman National Forest. Several wilderness areas encompass remote parts of the range, including the North Fork Umatilla Wilderness, the North Fork John Day Wilderness, the Strawberry Mountain Wilderness, and the Monument Rock Wilderness, all of which are in the Northwest. The Wenaha–Tucannon Wilderness sits along the Columbia River.