One-Tank Trip: The peculiarities of the Oregon Vortex

There is a place on Earth where the laws of physics appear to not apply. That place is the Oregon Vortex. Only 180 miles away from Bend, or 20 miles north of Medford, the vortex is an ideal One-Tank Trip for the family to experience a bit of the unreal.

Discovered in 1854, the Oregon Vortex is a single acre-sized lot of land where strange and unexplainable phenomena occur.

For example, there a broom is able to stand on its end, a golf ball will roll up and incline, and a person’s height appears to change as they walk along a plank.

“We haven’t figured it out yet,” said Elena Cooper, assistant manager and part owner. “We’ve been open for about 80 years now, and we still haven’t got a clue as to what exactly is going on.”

When entering the vortex, many people feel the onset of vertigo. Some describe an unexplained pressure on their temples, others a sensation of leaning to the west, and many say they feel slightly dizzy.

“(I feel) off-kilter, very off-kilter,” said Sheila Neal. She and her family had come to the Oregon Vortex while on vacation.

Neal felt so strange within the vortex she had to rest and let her family continue on the tour without her.

“It’s like nothing here is real,” she said. “Like you can’t possibly stand in this area and be normal. It just can’t happen.”

Many theories try to explain the peculiarities of the vortex. One favored by geologists is the idea that just beneath the surface lays an object that has so much mass, it distorts the gravitational field around the area.

Another common theory describes a vortex of magnetic fields surrounding the land. It is theorized that this vortex is a nexus of the gravitational pull between the Earth, Moon and other planets in our solar system.

The most recent scientific study of the Oregon Vortex was done by Scottish Physicist John Litster in the 1940s. His findings were inconclusive, as he was unable to debunk or explain the vortex.

And that lack of explanation is, what some argue, makes the Oregon Vortex so special.

“We’ve sort of figured the world out,” said Cooper. “Like there isn’t anything left to discover. There isn’t any new discovery to be made on the planet.

“And to find out that that’s not true, that there is still some mystery to the universe, is really appealing to us. It makes us feel less confined by our day-to-day lives.”

To read more, visit: http://www.oregonvortex.com/