Derrick’s Cave is by far one of my favorite locations to visit in Eastern Oregon. I have always loved caves in general; I love how the temperature drops when you step inside, and there's this insulated feeling of quiet and isolation, of ancientness.
The Derrick Cave is actually a lava tube, estimated to be 1,200 feet long, making it Oregon’s third-longest lava tube cave. When I was a teen, I climbed all the way to the back (or at least, as far as we could go) with my aunt and uncle on one of our family trips. The darkness at the back of the cave is so thick you can almost chew it. And there are bats. It also gets damp and slick in there, so I would not recommend it unless you are a fairly hardy explorer. Be sure and bring a light, and probably a backup just in case.
Some Brief History:
Derrick Cave was named for H.E. Derrick, a pioneer rancher in the Devils Garden area. Derrick Cave developed just south of the main vent for the Devils Garden Flows and was the route of most of the lava which spread south from the vent. Additional lava from the vent went to the north and west via a large gutter system (open lava river channel).
Over a short distance one can see the vent, an open lava river channel, short roofed-over channel sections, and a well-developed lava tube. The northeast end of the cave is about 600 feet long and is characterized by thin roofs, multiple skylights, short multiple levels, and wide sandy floored passages. The southwest end is about 1200 feet long and is relatively narrow, deep and thick roofed.
In the 1960s, Derrick Cave was a designated nuclear fallout shelter with supplies of food and water.
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| The entrance to Derrick Cave |
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| Several shots of the cave interior |
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| Looking up through the skylight |
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| me and my little spelunker :-) |
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| My mother posing in the beam from the skylight with her dogs |
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| a bird's nest perched on a rocky ledge |
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