Smith Rock State Park, Oregon, United States May 16, 2026

What do you call a place where the rocks do the climbing, and humans try to keep up? Welcome to Smith Rock State Park in Oregon, United States, where cliffs rise fast, and excuses fall faster. It sits inside the 40-kilometre-long Crooked River Caldera, shaped by multiple volcanic eruptions. Its welded tuff cliffs are made from compressed volcanic ash that cooled under pressure. The Crooked River carved the canyon, while formations like the Spire rise up to 180 metres.

© Alex Ratson/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

May 16, 2024Ria de Vigo, Vigo, Spain
May 16, 2025Great green macaw, Mexico

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Nov 16, 2023Athens and the Acropolis, Greece
Nov 27, 2024Tombeau du Géant in Bouillon, Belgium
Jan 12, 2025Crescent-tail bigeye fish, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Nov 27, 2023Río Negro, Amazon basin, Brazil
Nov 19, 2024Tasmans Arch, Tasman National Park, Tasmania, Australia
Dec 13, 2023Svolvaer, Lofoten Islands, Norway
Feb 21, 2025Champaka Sarasi, Shivamogga, Karnataka, India
Feb 1, 2024Sassnitz lighthouse, Germany
Feb 8, 2025Medieval towers in Mestia, Upper Svaneti, Georgia
Aug 29, 2025Aerial view of Plaza Mayor, Madrid, Spain
Sep 8, 2023The Circus, Bath, Somerset, England
Mar 4, 2026Purple crocus flowers, Seven Rila Lakes, Bulgaria
Jul 27, 2025Barracudas at Shark Reef, Ras Mohammed National Park, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
Jul 22, 2025Badlands National Park, South Dakota, United States
Sep 23, 2024Sea otter, Alaska, USA
May 10, 2026Polar bears in Wapusk National Park, Manitoba, Canada
Feb 4, 2024Devetashka Cave, Devetaki, Bulgaria
Jul 27, 2024Vineyards above the Moselle River, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Jul 8, 2024Blueberries growing in the wild
Jun 14, 2025Cinque Torri, Dolomites, Italy
May 4, 2026Ksar Ouled Soltane, Tataouine district in southern Tunisia
Mar 8, 2025Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park, Germany
Nov 7, 2025Polar bear in Canada
Feb 26, 2026Grand Canyon and the Colorado River, Arizona, United States
Oct 8, 2025Octopus cyanea
May 24, 2025Jotunheimen National Park in Norway
Nov 6, 2023Lago Pehoé, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
Feb 19, 2025European river otter
Mar 22, 2025Cenote Nicte-Ha, Tulum, Mexico
Jan 13, 2026Vale of Clwyd, Wales