The Painted Hills, Oregon, USA 11 Oct 2023

The Painted Hills, Oregon, USA

Featured here is the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, specifically the mesmerising Painted Hills. Layers of vividly coloured clay-rich soils make for a captivating landscape. These hills contain a record of changing climates and ecosystems that spans millions of years. Here, visitors can explore a museum that displays fossils of plants and animals that thrived long ago. One can get a glimpse of fossils of opossums, oreodonts, sabre-toothed tigers and turtles by visiting the Clarno unit of the monument. These remnants serve as a reminder of the dynamic and fascinating history our planet holds.

© Ben Herndon/Tandem Stills + Motion

palette

Today in History

Magnificent moss, magnified
11 Oct 2024Grasmere, Lake District, Cumbria, England
11 Oct 2025World Migratory Bird Day

More Desktop Wallpapers:

3 Jan 2026JRR Tolkien Day
16 Jun 2025World Sea Turtle Day
Hovering over harmonious horticulture
27 May 2025Mona Vale rockpool, Sydney, Australia
19 Sep 2024International Talk Like a Pirate Day
10 Feb 2026Es Vedrà and Es Vedranell, Ibiza, Spain
Taking a New Year nap
Giants of the Southern Ocean
1 Oct 2023Lake Bled, Slovenia
The grass looks greener on this side
15 Jan 2025266 years of the British Museum
20 Oct 2023International Sloth Day
20 Jan 2024Macaroni penguins
6 Oct 2025Anshun Bridge, Chengdu, China
23 Aug 2025European fallow deer in England
17 Jul 2025Lavender fields in Plateau de Valensole, France
Gravity-defying wonders of the world
21 May 2025International Tea Day
18 Nov 2024Porthcawl lighthouse, Wales
Love is in the snow
An architectural masterpiece fit for a king
Patchwork of peace
3 Feb 2025Ribblehead Viaduct, North Yorkshire, England
Were halfway there
28 Jun 2024Stonewall uprising anniversary
Where fire and water meet
18 Feb 2026Przewalskis horses
17 Feb 2026Chinese New Year
6 Feb 2024Lake Tahoe, USA
1 Sep 2025Rock layers in Zumaia, Basque Country, Spain