The Wild Rogue area is in the Klamath Mountains, which are made up of land that was once part of ocean crust or island archipelagos, carried toward continental North America by plate tectonics. They were joined to the existing continent, and folded, faulted, and broken upon collision.

Sedimentary deposits from the Dothan formation comprise most of the geology in the roadless areas. They date back from the Upper Jurassic Period of the Mesozoic Era (136-190 million years ago, near the time of mammal evolution) and include sand, silt and other substrates prone to landslides.  The Rogue formation occurs from Graves Creek west to Booze Creek and is composed of volcanic rock including greenish lava flows and rocks comprised of lava cinders and fragments.