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Basalt headlands of the Oregon Coast south from Cape Perpetua, the accreted margin of the Pacific Northwest

The Ocean Beneath the Vineyard: How Geology Built Oregon’s Willamette Valley

Wine Knowledge & Tips / , ,

The Willamette Valley began as an oceanic lava plateau that slammed into North America 50 million years ago. How Siletzia’s accreted sea floor, the Coast Range, the Columbia River basalts, and the Ice-Age Missoula Floods built Oregon wine country — and its three great soils.

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Map of the Columbia River Basalt flood province across Oregon and Washington

Oregon Geology: The Coastal Range and Cascade Mountains

Oregon Wine History / , , ,

Fire, sea, wind, and flood: four very different forces, acting across 15 million years, built the ground beneath Willamette Valley wine — and decided where the vines could grow. KWReviewed & edited by Ken Wytsma · Fact-checked June 2026Researched and fact-checked against independent sources, with AI assistance.✓ Verified Every great wine region is, underneath, a

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