Wikipedia:Today's featured article/January 7, 2016
Upper and Lower Table Rock are two prominent volcanic plateaus just north of the Rogue River in Jackson County, Oregon, US. Created by a medium-grained lava flow around seven million years ago and shaped by erosion, they now stand about 800 feet (240 m) above the surrounding Rogue Valley. They are jointly owned by The Nature Conservancy and the Bureau of Land Management. Native Americans inhabited the Table Rocks for at least 15,000 years before the local Takelma people were forced into reservations during a mid-19th-century gold rush. A post office was established nearby in 1872, an airstrip was built atop Lower Table Rock in 1948, and an aviation beacon was constructed on Upper Table Rock in the 1960s. These plateaus, which were not protected until the 1970s, are home to over 70 species of animals and 340 species of plants, including the dwarf woolly meadowfoam. They are popular hiking locations in the Rogue Valley, with over 45,000 visitors annually. (Full article...)