Riley is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

in Harney County,

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

, United States, located at the crossroads of

U.S. Highway 395 U.S. Route 395 (US 395) is a U.S. Route in the western United States. The southern terminus of the route is in the Mojave Desert at Interstate 15 near Hesperia. The northern terminus is at the Canada–US border near Laurier, where the road ...

and

U.S. Highway 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. ...

, milepost 104, about west of Burns, the seat of Harney County. The elevation of Riley is . The town presently consists entirely of two service establishments with attached apartments: a post office, and a general store with gas pump and garage service. It exists to serve the rural farming and ranching community that surrounds it, and highway travelers. Farmers grow alfalfa, hay, and root crops. The town began with the establishment of a post office in about 1885, and was named for stockman Amos Riley of the

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most oft ...

ing partnership Riley and Hardin. Previously, the nearest post office was at Hardin, northwest of Riley, so the people who lived along Silver Creek made Riley their new gathering spot. Riley's post office closed in 1919, but was reopened in 1949 after an office at Suntex was closed. The

Oregon Department of Transportation The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is a department of the state government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for systems of transportation. It was first established in 1969. It had been preceded by the Oregon State Highway Dep ...

has a camera for road and weather conditions located at the intersection of U.S. 20 and U.S. 395 in Riley, facing west-northwest.

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, nota ...

system, Riley 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- ...

, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.

Points of interest

* Chickahominy Reservoir *Unicorn Ranch

Transportation

In the 21st century, Riley is a stop on the Eastern POINT intercity bus line between Bend and

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 C ...

. It makes one stop per day in each direction.

Education

The zoned

K-8 school K8 or K-8 may refer to: * K-8 (Kansas highway), two highways in Kansas, one in northern Kansas, one in southern Kansas * K-8 school, a type of school that includes kindergarten and grades one through eight * AMD K8, the internal designation for ...

is Suntex Elementary School. The previous campus was destroyed in a 1978 fire. High school students are zoned to

Crane Union High School Crane Union High School is a public high school in Crane, Oregon, United States. It is a boarding school that serves students from a large geographic area. Its district is known as the Harney County Union High School District 1J, and covers muc ...

, of Harney County Union High School District 1J.
Text list
/ref> Harney County is not in a community college district but has a "contract out of district" (COD) with

Treasure Valley Community College Treasure Valley Community College is a Public college, public community college in Ontario, Oregon, at the western edge of the Treasure Valley. Its service area is sections of Malheur County, Oregon, Malheur and Baker County, Oregon, Baker co ...

. TVCC operates the Burns Outreach Center in Burns.

References

External links

History of Riley from Harney County Chamber of Commerce
{{Authority control Unincorporated communities in Harney County, Oregon 1885 establishments in Oregon Populated places established in 1885 Unincorporated communities in Oregon