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Pilot Butte is a lava dome that was created from an extinct volcano located in Bend, Oregon. It is a cinder cone butte which rises nearly 500 feet (150 m) above the surrounding plains. Bend is one of six cities in the United States to have a volcano within its boundaries. The other examples are Mount Tabor in Portland, Oregon, Jackson Volcano in Jackson, Mississippi, Diamond Head in Honolulu, Glassford Hill in Prescott Valley and Pilot Knob in Austin, Texas.

Pilot Butte
Highest point
Elevation	4,142 ft (1,262 m) NAVD 88[1]
Prominence	480 ft (150 m)[2]
Coordinates	44°03′38″N 121°17′00″W[1]
Geography
Pilot Butte Deschutes County, Oregon, U.S. Show map of Bend OR Pilot Butte Pilot Butte (Oregon) Show map of Oregon
Parent range	Cascades
Topo map	USGS Bend
Geology
Age of rock	Less than 780,000 years[3]
Mountain type	Cinder cone
Volcanic arc	Cascade Volcanic Arc
Climbing
Easiest route	Road

The 114.22-acre (46.22-hectare) Pilot Butte State Scenic Viewpoint, presented as a gift to the State of Oregon in 1928, is a Bend icon. Pilot Butte itself is a popular hiking destination with two trails to the summit, each gaining about 490 feet (150 m) in elevation. There is also a 1.8-mile (2.9 km) trail around the base of the butte. A scenic road also winds up and around the cone. In 2018, the park was the most visited Oregon state park east of the Cascade Mountains. From the top, the entire city of Bend is visible, as well as several major Cascade peaks. Most prominent are the Three Sisters, Broken Top, and Mount Bachelor, which are located about 20 miles (32 km) to the west. The City of Bend launches Fourth of July fireworks from Pilot Butte each year.[4]

Geology

Pilot Butte formed approximately 188,000 years ago from the eruption of a volcanic vent.[5] The rock has normal magnetic polarity, implying that it was laid down after the most recent geomagnetic reversal about 780,000 years ago.^{[citation needed]} The butte's light-colored soil contains some ash from the eruption of Mount Mazama (which formed Crater Lake).[5]

Ecology

The most common tree on Pilot Butte is Western juniper, which is sometimes parasitized by witches' broom mistletoe. Also abundant are sagebrush and the similar plants bitterbrush and rabbitbrush. The invasive species cheatgrass is likely the most common grass on the butte. Wildflowers that appear include sand lily, rock cress, penstemon, paintbrush, buckwheat, yarrow, blazing star, mariposa lily, lupine, and monkeyflower. Ponderosa pine and red currant can also be found. Birds and deer feed on some of the plants, and some animals use snags as shelter.[5]

History

Pilot Butte was named in 1851 by Thomas Clark, leader of the first party of European settlers to camp on the future site of Bend. The Clark wagon train approached the area from the east after recovering from the Clark massacre.

The butte was gifted to State of Oregon as a public park in 1928 by the daughter of Terrence Hardington Foley, the leader of the local Elks lodge until his death in a 1926 automobile accident, to whom the park is dedicated on a memorial tablet.[6]

In 1983, a drive-in hamburger restaurant called Pilot Butte Drive-In was opened next to the butte on Greenwood Avenue. It remained open until 2020, when it was closed in response to COVID-19 lockdowns.[7] The property was sold and will be reopened as a pizza, beer, and poker establishment.[8]

In 2010, a 1.8-mile (2.9 km) trail was constructed around the base of the butte. The park had 949,968 annual visits in 2018, making it the most visited Oregon State Park east of the Cascade Mountains and the ninth most popular in the state.[9]

Gallery

References

External links

• "Pilot Butte". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved April 2, 2008.
• "Pilot Butte State Scenic Viewpoint". Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. Retrieved April 1, 2008.
• "Pilot Butte, Oregon". USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory. Retrieved April 1, 2008.
• Pilot Butte State Scenic Viewpoint, from The Oregon Encyclopedia

На других языках

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- [en] Pilot Butte (Oregon)

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[fr] Pilot Butte

Pilot Butte est un cône volcanique de l'Oregon, aux États-Unis. Il culmine à 1 261 mètres dans le centre de la ville de Bend, dans le comté de Deschutes. Le sommet peut être atteint par la route. Il offre une vue sur une partie de la chaîne des Cascades, notamment le mont Jefferson, le mont Bachelor et le mont Hood.

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