 about 190 miles ( 310 km ) northeast of Reno , Nevada .   The range and surrounding non @-@ mountainous areas cover an area of 811 square miles ( 2 @,@ 100 km2 ) . The mountains run 51 miles ( 82 km ) north to south and 36 miles ( 58 km ) east to west . More of the range is in Oregon ( 78 % ) than in Nevada ( 22 % ) . The highest point in the range is Orevada View Benchmark , which is 8 @,@ 506 feet ( 2 @,@ 593 m ) above sea level and is located in Nevada about one mile south of the Oregon border . About two miles southeast of Orevada View is Disaster Peak , " a large , symmetrical butte that is visible throughout the region . " At 7 @,@ 781 feet ( 2 @,@ 372 m ) , Disaster Peak anchors the southern end of the mountains in a sub @-@ range called The Granites .   The Oregon Canyon Mountains border the Trout Creek Mountains on the east along the Harney – Malheur county line ( according to the United States Geological Survey 's definitions ) , while the Pueblo Mountains are the next range west of the Trout Creek Mountains . The Bilk Creek Mountains in both Oregon and Nevada border the Trout Creek Mountains on the southwest ; the two ranges are separated by Log Cabin Creek and South Fork Cottonwood Creek . South of the Trout Creek Mountains is the Kings River Valley , which separates the Bilk Creek Mountains on the west from the Montana Mountains on the east .   The terrain in the Trout Creek Mountains varies from broad , flat basins and rolling ridges to high rock escarpments cut by deep canyons . The canyons have steep walls with loose talus slopes at the bottoms . There are meadows around springs in the mountains , although most streams in the range do not flow year @-@ round . Major streams that flow off the north slopes of the mountains include ( from west to east ) Cottonwood Creek , Trout Creek , Willow Creek , and Whitehorse Creek . These streams all flow into endorheic basins in Harney County , Oregon . Trout Creek and Whitehorse Creek are the largest of the four . The Kings River and McDermitt Creek each drain an area on the south slopes of the Trout Creek Mountains . The Kings River begins in The Granites and flows south into Nevada , where it meets the Quinn River , which evaporates in the Black Rock Desert . McDermitt Creek begins in Oregon a few miles north of The Granites and flows generally east , crossing the Oregon – Nevada border five times before disappearing into the floor of the Quinn River Valley south of McDermitt .   = = Geology = =   The mountains lie within the Basin and Range Province or Great Basin of the Western United States , which is characterized by a series of parallel fault blocks that form long north – south mountain ranges separated by wide , high @-@ desert valleys . The Trout Creek Mountains are uplifted and tilted blocks with steep escarpments along the southern and eastern sides of the range . The southern area of the range , known as The Granites , has numerous outcroppings of Cretaceous age granite . These granite outcrops are commonly found in the eroded valleys below the volcanic ridgelines .   The Trout Creek Mountains are composed mostly of basalt from a shield volcano that once stood where Steens Mountain is today . Crustal thinning and the Yellowstone hotspot , which was then beneath southeastern Oregon , induced eruptions from Steens and nearby vents about 17 million years ago , in the Miocene . The vents produced a series of lava flows that spread across the land now known as the Trout Creek Mountains . Eruptions from the Steens volcano lasted for about one million years , and at least 70 separate lava flows occurred . Under the resulting basalt rock lie much older metamorphic rocks that may be related to some of the Triassic age formations of the Blue Mountains in northeastern Oregon . Within these metamorphic rocks are diorite and granodiorite intrusive bodies which were presumably intruded during the Cretaceous Period .   The broad McDermitt Caldera is a prominent geologic feature in the Trout Creek Mountains . The oval @-@ shaped caldera is a collapsed lava dome that straddles the Oregon – Nevada border on the eastern side of the range and south of the Oregon Canyon Mountains . It is about 28 miles ( 45 km ) long and 22 miles ( 35 km ) wide . The lava dome was created by volcanic eruptions in the early Miocene . A total of five large ash flows were produced along with a large rhyolite dome structure . The caldera formed when the dome collapsed about 16 million years ago . The caldera contains significant ore deposits , and mercury and uranium have been mined at eight or more sites in and around the caldera . Other areas in the caldera were mined for ores of antimony ,
Ġabout Ġ190 Ġmiles Ġ( Ġ310 Ġkm Ġ) Ġnortheast Ġof ĠReno Ġ, ĠNevada Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġrange Ġand Ġsurrounding Ġnon Ġ@ - @ Ġmountainous Ġareas Ġcover Ġan Ġarea Ġof Ġ8 11 Ġsquare Ġmiles Ġ( Ġ2 Ġ@ , @ Ġ100 Ġkm 2 Ġ) Ġ. ĠThe Ġmountains Ġrun Ġ51 Ġmiles Ġ( Ġ82 Ġkm Ġ) Ġnorth Ġto Ġsouth Ġand Ġ36 Ġmiles Ġ( Ġ58 Ġkm Ġ) Ġeast Ġto Ġwest Ġ. ĠMore Ġof Ġthe Ġrange Ġis Ġin ĠOregon Ġ( Ġ78 Ġ% Ġ) Ġthan Ġin ĠNevada Ġ( Ġ22 Ġ% Ġ) Ġ. ĠThe Ġhighest Ġpoint Ġin Ġthe Ġrange Ġis ĠO rev ada ĠView ĠBench mark Ġ, Ġwhich Ġis Ġ8 Ġ@ , @ Ġ50 6 Ġfeet Ġ( Ġ2 Ġ@ , @ Ġ5 93 Ġm Ġ) Ġabove Ġsea Ġlevel Ġand Ġis Ġlocated Ġin ĠNevada Ġabout Ġone Ġmile Ġsouth Ġof Ġthe ĠOregon Ġborder Ġ. ĠAbout Ġtwo Ġmiles Ġsoutheast Ġof ĠO rev ada ĠView Ġis ĠDisaster ĠPeak Ġ, Ġ" Ġa Ġlarge Ġ, Ġsymm etrical Ġbut te Ġthat Ġis Ġvisible Ġthroughout Ġthe Ġregion Ġ. Ġ" ĠAt Ġ7 Ġ@ , @ Ġ7 81 Ġfeet Ġ( Ġ2 Ġ@ , @ Ġ372 Ġm Ġ) Ġ, ĠDisaster ĠPeak Ġanchors Ġthe Ġsouthern Ġend Ġof Ġthe Ġmountains Ġin Ġa Ġsub Ġ@ - @ Ġrange Ġcalled ĠThe ĠGran ites Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠOregon ĠCanyon ĠMountains Ġborder Ġthe ĠTrout ĠCreek ĠMountains Ġon Ġthe Ġeast Ġalong Ġthe ĠHar ney ĠâĢĵ ĠMal he ur Ġcounty Ġline Ġ( Ġaccording Ġto Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates ĠGeological ĠSurvey Ġ' s Ġdefinitions Ġ) Ġ, Ġwhile Ġthe ĠP uebl o ĠMountains Ġare Ġthe Ġnext Ġrange Ġwest Ġof Ġthe ĠTrout ĠCreek ĠMountains Ġ. ĠThe ĠBil k ĠCreek ĠMountains Ġin Ġboth ĠOregon Ġand ĠNevada Ġborder Ġthe ĠTrout ĠCreek ĠMountains Ġon Ġthe Ġsouthwest Ġ; Ġthe Ġtwo Ġranges Ġare Ġseparated Ġby ĠLog ĠCabin ĠCreek Ġand ĠSouth ĠFork ĠCotton wood ĠCreek Ġ. ĠSouth Ġof Ġthe ĠTrout ĠCreek ĠMountains Ġis Ġthe ĠKings ĠRiver ĠValley Ġ, Ġwhich Ġseparates Ġthe ĠBil k ĠCreek ĠMountains Ġon Ġthe Ġwest Ġfrom Ġthe ĠMontana ĠMountains Ġon Ġthe Ġeast Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġterrain Ġin Ġthe ĠTrout ĠCreek ĠMountains Ġvaries Ġfrom Ġbroad Ġ, Ġflat Ġbas ins Ġand Ġrolling Ġrid ges Ġto Ġhigh Ġrock Ġesc arp ments Ġcut Ġby Ġdeep Ġcan y ons Ġ. ĠThe Ġcan y ons Ġhave Ġsteep Ġwalls Ġwith Ġloose Ġtal us Ġslopes Ġat Ġthe Ġbott oms Ġ. ĠThere Ġare Ġme adows Ġaround Ġsprings Ġin Ġthe Ġmountains Ġ, Ġalthough Ġmost Ġstreams Ġin Ġthe Ġrange Ġdo Ġnot Ġflow Ġyear Ġ@ - @ Ġround Ġ. ĠMajor Ġstreams Ġthat Ġflow Ġoff Ġthe Ġnorth Ġslopes Ġof Ġthe Ġmountains Ġinclude Ġ( Ġfrom Ġwest Ġto Ġeast Ġ) ĠCotton wood ĠCreek Ġ, ĠTrout ĠCreek Ġ, ĠWillow ĠCreek Ġ, Ġand ĠWhite horse ĠCreek Ġ. ĠThese Ġstreams Ġall Ġflow Ġinto Ġend or he ic Ġbas ins Ġin ĠHar ney ĠCounty Ġ, ĠOregon Ġ. ĠTrout ĠCreek Ġand ĠWhite horse ĠCreek Ġare Ġthe Ġlargest Ġof Ġthe Ġfour Ġ. ĠThe ĠKings ĠRiver Ġand ĠMcD erm itt ĠCreek Ġeach Ġdrain Ġan Ġarea Ġon Ġthe Ġsouth Ġslopes Ġof Ġthe ĠTrout ĠCreek ĠMountains Ġ. ĠThe ĠKings ĠRiver Ġbegins Ġin ĠThe ĠGran ites Ġand Ġflows Ġsouth Ġinto ĠNevada Ġ, Ġwhere Ġit Ġmeets Ġthe ĠQuinn ĠRiver Ġ, Ġwhich Ġevapor ates Ġin Ġthe ĠBlack ĠRock ĠDesert Ġ. ĠMcD erm itt ĠCreek Ġbegins Ġin ĠOregon Ġa Ġfew Ġmiles Ġnorth Ġof ĠThe ĠGran ites Ġand Ġflows Ġgenerally Ġeast Ġ, Ġcrossing Ġthe ĠOregon ĠâĢĵ ĠNevada Ġborder Ġfive Ġtimes Ġbefore Ġdisappearing Ġinto Ġthe Ġfloor Ġof Ġthe ĠQuinn ĠRiver ĠValley Ġsouth Ġof ĠMcD erm itt Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠGe ology Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġmountains Ġlie Ġwithin Ġthe ĠBasin Ġand ĠRange ĠProvince Ġor ĠGreat ĠBasin Ġof Ġthe ĠWestern ĠUnited ĠStates Ġ, Ġwhich Ġis Ġcharacterized Ġby Ġa Ġseries Ġof Ġparallel Ġfault Ġblocks Ġthat Ġform Ġlong Ġnorth ĠâĢĵ Ġsouth Ġmountain Ġranges Ġseparated Ġby Ġwide Ġ, Ġhigh Ġ@ - @ Ġdesert Ġvalleys Ġ. ĠThe ĠTrout ĠCreek ĠMountains Ġare Ġupl ifted Ġand Ġtilted Ġblocks Ġwith Ġsteep Ġesc arp ments Ġalong Ġthe Ġsouthern Ġand Ġeastern Ġsides Ġof Ġthe Ġrange Ġ. ĠThe Ġsouthern Ġarea Ġof Ġthe Ġrange Ġ, Ġknown Ġas ĠThe ĠGran ites Ġ, Ġhas Ġnumerous Ġout cro ppings Ġof ĠC ret aceous Ġage Ġgranite Ġ. ĠThese Ġgranite Ġout cro ps Ġare Ġcommonly Ġfound Ġin Ġthe Ġeroded Ġvalleys Ġbelow Ġthe Ġvolcanic Ġrid g elines Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠTrout ĠCreek ĠMountains Ġare Ġcomposed Ġmostly Ġof Ġbas alt Ġfrom Ġa Ġshield Ġvolcano Ġthat Ġonce Ġstood Ġwhere ĠSte ens ĠMountain Ġis Ġtoday Ġ. ĠCr ust al Ġthin ning Ġand Ġthe ĠYellowstone Ġhots pot Ġ, Ġwhich Ġwas Ġthen Ġbeneath Ġsoutheastern ĠOregon Ġ, Ġinduced Ġeru ptions Ġfrom ĠSte ens Ġand Ġnearby Ġvents Ġabout Ġ17 Ġmillion Ġyears Ġago Ġ, Ġin Ġthe ĠMi ocene Ġ. ĠThe Ġvents Ġproduced Ġa Ġseries Ġof Ġlava Ġflows Ġthat Ġspread Ġacross Ġthe Ġland Ġnow Ġknown Ġas Ġthe ĠTrout ĠCreek ĠMountains Ġ. ĠE rupt ions Ġfrom Ġthe ĠSte ens Ġvolcano Ġlasted Ġfor Ġabout Ġone Ġmillion Ġyears Ġ, Ġand Ġat Ġleast Ġ70 Ġseparate Ġlava Ġflows Ġoccurred Ġ. ĠUnder Ġthe Ġresulting Ġbas alt Ġrock Ġlie Ġmuch Ġolder Ġmet amorph ic Ġrocks Ġthat Ġmay Ġbe Ġrelated Ġto Ġsome Ġof Ġthe ĠTri assic Ġage Ġformations Ġof Ġthe ĠBlue ĠMountains Ġin Ġnortheastern ĠOregon Ġ. ĠWithin Ġthese Ġmet amorph ic Ġrocks Ġare Ġd ior ite Ġand Ġgran od ior ite Ġintrusive Ġbodies Ġwhich Ġwere Ġpresumably Ġintr uded Ġduring Ġthe ĠC ret aceous ĠPeriod Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġbroad ĠMcD erm itt ĠCalder a Ġis Ġa Ġprominent Ġge ologic Ġfeature Ġin Ġthe ĠTrout ĠCreek ĠMountains Ġ. ĠThe Ġoval Ġ@ - @ Ġshaped Ġcal der a Ġis Ġa Ġcollapsed Ġlava Ġdome Ġthat Ġstr add les Ġthe ĠOregon ĠâĢĵ ĠNevada Ġborder Ġon Ġthe Ġeastern Ġside Ġof Ġthe Ġrange Ġand Ġsouth Ġof Ġthe ĠOregon ĠCanyon ĠMountains Ġ. ĠIt Ġis Ġabout Ġ28 Ġmiles Ġ( Ġ45 Ġkm Ġ) Ġlong Ġand Ġ22 Ġmiles Ġ( Ġ35 Ġkm Ġ) Ġwide Ġ. ĠThe Ġlava Ġdome Ġwas Ġcreated Ġby Ġvolcanic Ġeru ptions Ġin Ġthe Ġearly ĠMi ocene Ġ. ĠA Ġtotal Ġof Ġfive Ġlarge Ġash Ġflows Ġwere Ġproduced Ġalong Ġwith Ġa Ġlarge Ġrhy ol ite Ġdome Ġstructure Ġ. ĠThe Ġcal der a Ġformed Ġwhen Ġthe Ġdome Ġcollapsed Ġabout Ġ16 Ġmillion Ġyears Ġago Ġ. ĠThe Ġcal der a Ġcontains Ġsignificant Ġore Ġdeposits Ġ, Ġand Ġmercury Ġand Ġuranium Ġhave Ġbeen Ġmined Ġat Ġeight Ġor Ġmore Ġsites Ġin Ġand Ġaround Ġthe Ġcal der a Ġ. ĠOther Ġareas Ġin Ġthe Ġcal der a Ġwere Ġmined Ġfor Ġo res Ġof Ġant imony Ġ,