Black Butte (Oregon)

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Black Butte
Black Butte (left) and Mt. Jefferson from the south

Black Butte (left) and Mt. Jefferson from the south

height 1962.9  m
location Oregon ( USA )
Mountains Cascade chain
Notch height 938 m
Coordinates 44 ° 23 '59 "  N , 121 ° 38' 8"  W Coordinates: 44 ° 23 '59 "  N , 121 ° 38' 8"  W.
Black Butte (Oregon) (Oregon)
Black Butte (Oregon)
Type Stratovolcano (extinct)
Age of the rock approx. 1.4 Ma
Last eruption about 1.4 Ma BP
Development Trail; Hikers' parking lot in the west flank at approx. 1500 m
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The Black Butte is a 1963  m high stratovolcano in the US state of Oregon , near the city of Sisters , which belongs to the Cascade Mountains .

location

The Black Butte stratovolcano rises almost 14 km north-northwest of the center of the city of Sisters in Jefferson County on the border with Deschutes County in the US state of Oregon . The area around the mountain is part of the Deschutes National Forest.

It lies east of the main ridge of the Cascade Range, which means that it receives significantly less rainfall than the elevations further to the west. It rises more than 900 m above the surrounding land and is a landmark that can be seen from afar due to its symmetrical shape.

The mountain is largely densely forested, only in the immediate summit area is the tree population lighter. Due to the exposed location, the summit area has been repeatedly affected by forest fires caused by lightning strikes, such as B. in 2009.

At the northern foot of the Black Butte are the Metolius Springs, the sources of the Metolius River , which feed the river from two spring pots with a high discharge.

The summit of Black Butte offers a comprehensive panoramic view. In the west rise the peaks of the Cascade Range ( Three Sisters in the southwest, Mount Washington and Three Fingered Jack in the west, Mount Jefferson and Mount Hood in the north). To the east and south-east the hill country of the High Desert extends, while to the south the Newberry Volcano can be seen. In good conditions, the view in the north extends to Mount Adams, which is almost 200 km away (in the panorama below, it can be seen in a shadowy manner to the right of Mount Hood).

Panorama from the top of Black Butte; from left: Broken Top , Three Sisters , Belknap Crater , Mount Washington, Three-Fingered Jack, Mount Jefferson , Mount Hood ; in the foreground the hut for the crew of the fire tower

geology

The Black Butte is a stratovolcano that, according to current knowledge, last erupted around 1.4 million years ago. This makes Black Butte much older than the peaks of the main ridge of the Cascade. However, there are contradicting information about the age and nature of the mountain.

According to some sources, it is a cinder cone , which, however, would have been severely reshaped or eroded by erosion after such a long time. The existing rock material as well as its height of almost 1000 m above the environment - pure cinder cones are rarely more than a few 100 m high - speak against this information.

The low erosion for its age - especially in comparison with the much younger but heavily eroded neighboring peaks such as Mount Washington, which is only a few 100,000 years old, but has already been eroded down to the chimney - is due to its location in the rain shadow of the main cascade ridge explained. This location meant that no glaciation could form during the cold periods and that the glaciers of the High Cascades to the west did not reach as far as the Black Butte.

use

Due to its exposed location in an extensive forest area, the summit has been used as a fire station since at least the beginning of the 20th century. A first simple observation post was probably built around 1910, before a first permanent building was erected in 1922, a still preserved combination of residential hut and viewing pulpit (as a roof structure), a standardized design at the time ( D-6 cupola ).

In 1934 an approx. 25 m high tower was built because the viewing platform did not provide a sufficient overview. In 1980, beneath the first building from 1922, which had previously served as staff accommodation, a log cabin was built as a residential building for those on duty. As a replacement for the dilapidated tower from 1934, the approx. 20 m high tower, which is still in use today, was built in 1995. The tower from 1934 collapsed in the winter of 2001/2002 after heavy snowfall.

Access

The summit of Black Butte can be reached on foot via a marked hiking trail. A chargeable hiking car park operated by the United States Forest Service on the west flank at an altitude of almost 1500 m can be reached via a forest road (gravel road).

The starting point is reached via US Highway 20 , which passes the mountain at the south foot, by turning 6.3 miles (11 km) north of Sisters into Indian Ford Road (Forest Service Road 11). After about 4 miles (6.5 km), Forest Service Road 1110 branches off to the left (sign for the Black Butte Trailhead ), which ends after 5.5 miles (almost 9 km) at the trail parking lot. Sufficient ground clearance and all-wheel drive are particularly recommended for the last mile. The journey from Sisters takes about 45 minutes. to rate.

The hiking trail climbs from the parking lot for just under 2 miles (3 km), sometimes quite steeply, to the summit.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d Raymond R. Hatton: Oregon's Sisters Country. Geographical Books, Bend, 1996. ISBN 0-89288-260-3
  2. a b Geologic Map of the Bend 30- × 60-Minute Quadrangle, Central Oregon , US Geological Survey, 2004, accessed May 25, 2015
  3. Data sheet from the National Geodetic Survey , accessed May 24, 2015.
  4. News item about the forest fire on Black Butte in 2009 , accessed on May 23, 2015
  5. Peterson, NV; RA Groh (1972): Geology and Origin of the Metolius Springs (PDF), accessed on May 23, 2015
  6. Information on Black Butte and the Trail , US Forest Service
  7. Information on Black Butte Wanderparkplatz , US Forest Service
  8. ^ Topographic map of the Black Butte area , US Forest Service