Arock is an unincorporated

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

Malheur County Malheur County () is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,571. Its county seat is Vale, and its largest city is Ontario. The county was named after the Malheur River, which runs thr ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, United States. Although it has never been visited by

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...

, it is part of the

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, OR– ID Micropolitan Statistical Area. There is a post office and K-8 school in Arock, and Jordan Creek flows near Arock and joins the Owyhee River just west of Arock.

History

Arock was supposedly named in 1922 for a rock bearing Native American

petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

s in the vicinity. Arock post office was established in 1926 and serves ZIP Code 97902. The oldest building in Malheur County, Sheep Ranch Fort, is near Arock. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1974. Arock is one of several places in southeast Oregon that were settled by Basque

herders A herder is a pastoral worker responsible for the care and management of a herd or flock of domestic animals, usually on open pasture. It is particularly associated with nomadic or transhumant management of stock, or with common land grazing. ...

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Arock has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.

Education

Arock School District No. 81 serves the community. It is a K-8 school and has two teachers, one for elementary and one for junior high school. The school is named W. W. Jones Elementary School.

References

External links

Arock School DistrictHistoric images of Arock from Salem Public LibraryBasque photo gallery, including Sheep Ranch Fort, from the Oregon Historical Society
Ontario, Oregon micropolitan area Basque-American culture in Oregon Unincorporated communities in Malheur County, Oregon Populated places established in 1922 1926 establishments in Oregon Unincorporated communities in Oregon {{MalheurCountyOR-geo-stub