Per Wikepedia, Painted Hills is a part of the John Day Fossil Beds, located in Central Oregon. It is about 75 miles northeast of Bend. They are named after the colorful layers of its hills corresponding to various geological eras, formed when the area was an ancient river floodplain.
The black layer is lignite that was vegetative matter that grew along the floodplain. The grey coloring is mudstone, siltstone and shale. The red coloring is laterite that formed by floodplain deposits when the area was warm and humid.
An abundance of fossil remains of early horses, camels, and rhinoceroses in the Painted Hills unit makes the area particularly important to vertebrate paleontologists.
These photos were taken several years ago when I was still using film. I had to scan the slides and I think some of the quality was lost in transition. They were taken early in the morning when the shadows were pretty harsh. I think late afternoon would be a better time to take photos..
Maralee
Through My Lens 
That’s a lot of paint . . .
I still have to get there some day. I’ve been to the Painted Desert in Arizona and it is so beautiful. Excellent photography from you!
They are so beautiful.. Wish we were closer to Oregon. Glad you put them on yoir blog.
Wow, what a beautiful and interesting place. I’d love to visit it someday.
Maralee, what can I say …. more than WOW !!!! Those colors are just unbelievable. Wouldn’t believe they have been scanned. Just amazing. Excellent job, as always.
What an intriguing landscape! It seems to have a human hand all over it…
… or the hand of an exquisitely creative God
This is great… so beautiful like a dreamy land… Thank you dear, Maralee, love, nia
Beautiful!
Looks like an amazing place. 🙂
fascinating place…