The 470 ha Pringle Falls RNA is located about 35 miles southwest of Bend in Deschutes County, Oregon. It is comprised of two tracts of land, which are situated on a plateau upon which 3 to 12 dm of dacite pumice was deposited following the eruption of Mount Mazama (now Crater Lake). The western block, unit 1, has a relatively flat topography with elevations ranging from 1,310 to1,320 m. In contrast, the eastern block, unit 2, varies from flat or rolling areas to relatively step slopes, with elevations ranging from 1,310 to1,470 m. Pringle Falls RNA occupies both the Lodgepole Pine Zone and the Mixed Conifer Zone. Unit 1 is completely dominated by almost pure lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) with a sparse herbaceous cover composed of western needlegrass (Achnatherum occidentale), Ross' sedge (Carex rossii), bottlebrush squirrletail (Sitanion hystrix), and Fragaria cunefolia. There is one lodgepole stand in the northern half of unit 1 with ground vegetation codominated by bitterbrush (Purshia) and Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis). A wildfire burned a portion of the lodgepole pine area in the early 1990s. Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and bitterbrush dominate the overstory and understory of unit 2; however, Ross' sedge, western needlegrass, bottlebrush squirrletail, and Arctostaphylos parryana var. pinetorum are also present. Large portions of this unit have been prescribed burned, sometimes twice, in the last 15 years.

Township/Range/Section:

The RNA is in 2 units. Unit 1 is in nearly all of sec 3, T21S, R9E. Unit 2 is in most of sec 35 and part of sec 34, T21S, R9E.

Latitude:

43,03N

Longitude:

121,40W

Quad Map:

No quad map available at the time the guidebook was published, however several special maps were prepared by CCC crews during the 1930s.

Threatened or Endangered Species:

Exotic Species Present:

Plant Communities:

A 2-unit RNA containing ponderosa pine/bitterbrush and lodgepole pine/bitterbrush communities typical of the northern Mt Mazama pumice area in south-central OR. Plant communities include: ponderosa pine/bitterbrush, ponderosa pine-lodgepole pine/bitterbrush, ponderosa pine-sugar pine/snowbrush ceanothus, and lodgepole pine/bitterbrush.

Aquatic Features Present:

Wickiup Reservoir, located 3 km (2 mi) above and to the west of the RNA, has apparently influenced the level of water tables in this locality.

Soils:

The principal soil in the area has been classified as the Lapine series.

Other Physical Features:

Cruiser and Wampus Buttes, which partially occupy Unit 2, are cinder cones.

Past Disturbance History:

Other Comments:

Access by road and trail; winter access is difficult