Bully Creek Spring

Malheur County, Oregon · Near Vale
44.0330°N, 117.4490°W · 2,560 ft
99°F 39°F air · Good soaking weather 2,560 ft Roadside
Aerial view of the ground around Bully Creek Spring LiDAR bare-earth view of the same ground around Bully Creek Spring
Aerial LiDAR bare earth

Drag the handle to compare the two views. The orange dot marks the spring, in a frame about three quarters of a mile wide.

Bully Creek Spring comes up at roughly body temperature beside Bully Creek Road in Malheur County, Oregon, about eleven miles from Vale. It is a USGS thermal point with soaking-warm water. Nobody has recorded a landowner, and public access is unknown as well. For a spring this close to a town, that gap matters more than usual.

Location

Essentially at the roadside, a few steps from the car. Low desert, ten inches of rain a year, almost no snow. The record gives no campground, no land unit, and no designation, which leaves the surroundings as a blank apart from the road itself.

Any month would work for getting here by the climate, and the file points to winter. Warm enough for a soak if a pool exists, and the record is silent on that. Ownership and access are blank, so check before using it. Temperature is a USGS figure of unknown date, and no water chemistry was ever filed for this site.

Terrain

Aircraft with laser scanners measured this ground to within inches. The scan strips out trees and buildings, leaving the bare shape of the land around Bully Creek Spring.

Setting
Hillside
The spring sits on a steep slope that climbs to the northwest.
Highest ground nearby
360 ft above the spring
Within a quarter mile, to the northwest
Cross-section through the spring

A slice through the ground from northwest to southeast, about 0.6 miles end to end.

Elevation data: USGS 3D Elevation Program. Aerial imagery: USGS The National Map. Public domain.

Heat Below
81 milliwatts per square meter of heat flow

That's close to the US average of 65. It's higher than at 16% of the springs on this site.

Heat flow measures the warmth working its way up through the ground from deep inside the earth. Where it runs high, rain and snowmelt that seep down through cracks in the rock come back up hot.

Heat flow estimate: Stanford Thermal Earth Model (Aljubran & Horne, 2024), CC BY 4.0.

Monthly Climate
29°
Jan
36°
Feb
45°
Mar
53°
Apr
62°
May
71°
Jun
82°
Jul
81°
Aug
69°
Sep
54°
Oct
40°
Nov
30°
Dec
Annual Precip: 9.6 in Annual Snow: 16.4 in
Best Time to Visit
January Air 29°F · Water 99°F · +70° contrast
December Air 30°F · Water 99°F · +69° contrast
February Air 36°F · Water 99°F · +63° contrast
January offers 53°F more contrast than July
Current Conditions
39°F
Clear N 0.0 mph 93% Good soaking weather
Today 73° Low 54° Mostly Sunny
Spring is +26° warmer
Wednesday 79° Low 54° Sunny 1% precip
Spring is +20° warmer
Thursday 75° Low 52° Chance Rain Showers 47% precip
Spring is +24° warmer
Friday 76° Low 52° Sunny 8% precip
Spring is +23° warmer
Saturday 77° Low 53° Sunny
Spring is +22° warmer
USGS Field Measurements
Recent Temperature 199.4°F (93.0°C) Measured Aug 20, 1991
Temperature
99°F
Warm Hot Boiling
Water Temp 99°F (37°C)
Avg Air Temp 54°F
Above Ambient +45°F
Mild soaking conditions September
Access
Road Access Roadside
Nearest Road Bully Creek Road
Distance to Road 31 ft
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the water temperature at Bully Creek Spring?
Bully Creek Spring has a water temperature of 99°F (37°C). This is a warm thermal spring.
Where is Bully Creek Spring located?
Bully Creek Spring is located in Malheur County, Oregon at 2,560 feet elevation, near Vale. Coordinates: 44.0330°N, 117.4490°W.
How do I get to Bully Creek Spring?
Bully Creek Spring has Roadside road access, with the nearest road being Bully Creek Road (31 ft from the road).
Sources: USGS NWIS