Rye Valley, Oregon | |
|---|---|
  Rye Valley, Oregon  Rye Valley, Oregon | |
| Coordinates: 44°27′50″N 117°28′39″W / 44.46389°N 117.47750°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Oregon |
| County | Baker |
| Elevation | 3,189 ft (972 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| Area code(s) | 458 and 541 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1131852[1] |
Rye Valley is an unincorporated community in Baker County, in the U.S. state of Oregon.[1] It lies along Dixie Creek, a tributary of the Burnt River, about 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Baker City.[2] It is slightly west of Interstate 84 near Weatherby and Dixie.[3]
The community is named for a native grass used as forage for pack animals important to the region's immigrants and miners in the 1860s. A Rye Valley post office opened on September 27, 1869, and operated intermittently between then and September 14, 1935. Nayson S. Whitcomb was the first postmaster.[2]
On July 24, 2014, a wildfire started by lightning happened in Rye Valley. The lightning first struck on Bureau of Land Management lands; however, winds quickly drove it onto forestlands protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry. The fire took three days to fully contain.[4]
