We have investigated (110) CrO 2 /natural barrier/Co magnetic tunnel junctions for their barrier and magneto-transport properties. A negative tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) of over 5% was observed in micro-fabricated devices at 4.2 K, which is comparable to TMR values obtained with (100) CrO 2 . Both transport and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy analysis reveal a natural barrier thickness 3.5 ± 0.5 nm. However, we obtain a low effective barrier height of 0.4 eV from transport measurements. The inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy showed significant bias dependence with peak positions showing vibrational modes, which deviate from stoichiometric Cr 2 O 3 . We conclude that the transport characteristics are controlled by defects within the natural barrier, consistent with recent theoretical reports.