Description
Monoliths and stone structures of the gods rise above territory once inhabited by Native Americans, cowboys, and outlaws. If "Owyhee" sounds suspiciously like Hawaii to you, it's not a coincidence. North West Company fur trappers led by Scottish-Canadian Donald McKenzie during the winter of 1818-1819 were the first non-Native people to enter the area. Three Hawaiian members of the group were dispatched to explore, but they never returned from the canyon. The Owyhee river and canyonlands were named in their honor, using the home-island Polynesian pronunciation of "Owyhee." Oregon’s Owyhee Canyonlands is the last great unprotected expanse of the American West.