Black Butte (California)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Black Butte | |
|---|---|
 Black Butte from Weed, California. |
|
| Elevation | 6359 ft (1938 m) |
| Location | California, USA |
| Range | Cascade Volcanic Arc, Cascades |
| Prominence | 1960 ft (597 m) |
| Coordinates | |
| Topo map | USGS City of Mount Shasta |
| Type | Lava dome |
| Age of rock | 9,000–10,000 yrs |
| Easiest route | trail |
Black Butte is a cluster of overlapping lava domes, a parasitic satellite cone of Mount Shasta. It is located directly adjacent to Interstate 5 at milepost 742 between the city of Mount Shasta and Weed, California. The highway crosses a 3917 ft (1194 m) pass, Black Butte Summit, at the western base of the lava domes. The lava domes were extruded at the foot of the cone of Shastina following the period of its major eruptions about 9,000–10,000 years ago.
A United States Forest Service fire lookout tower was built on the summit in the 1930s, but destroyed during the Columbus Day Storm of 1962. A new lookout was built in 1963 and operated until 1973. The building was moved by helicopter to a new location in 1975 and only the concrete foundation remains today. A 2.5 mi (4 km) long trail leads to the summit from a trailhead accessible by dirt roads off the Everitt Memorial Highway. The summit boasts an outstanding view of the southwest side of Shasta and Shastina, and on clear days Mount McLoughlin is easily visible 70 mi (113 km) to the north in Oregon.
[edit] References
- Shasta-Trinity National Forest: Black Butte Trail. Retrieved on February 27, 2007.
- English, Jane; Bonnie Eddy, eds. (2004). Mount Shasta's Black Butte. Earth Heart. ISBN 0-934747-09-1.
- Selters, Andy; MIchael Zanger (2006). The Mt. Shasta Book (3rd ed.). Wilderness Press. ISBN 0-89997-404-X.
- Harris, Stephen L. (2005). Fire Mountains of the West: The Cascade and Mono Lake Volcanoes (3rd ed.). Mountain Press Publishing Company. ISBN 0-87842-511-X.
- Wood, Charles A.; Jürgen Kienle, eds. (1990). Volcanoes of North America. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-43811-X.
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- WikiSatellite view at WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image from TerraServer-USA
- Surrounding area map from Google Maps
- Location in the United States from the Census Bureau
