Barnes Butte Explained
Barnes Butte is a rhyolite dome of volcanic rock in Crook County, Oregon, United States located partly within the city of Prineville. Barnes Butte is composed of welded tuff and is a part of the Crooked River caldera.[2] It was the site of a 1940s mercury mine.[1] [3] In 2015, a BLM cleanup of mercury was done to reduce the health risk to residents of nearby IronHorse neighborhood and the Barnes Butte Elementary School.[4]
The butte is a recreational area and includes the IronHorse hiking trail, a 4miles loop that includes a hike to the summit.[5]
The butte is considered one of three popular landmarks near Prineville and has been set aside for scenic preservation.[6]
Notes and References
- Web site: Preliminary Geology of the Lower Crooked River Basin. OregonGeology.org. 2017-12-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20171228232549/http://www.oregongeology.org/sub/projects/lcrb/default.htm. 2017-12-28. dead.
- Web site: Field trip guide to the Neogene stratigraphy of the Lower Crooked Basin and the ancestral Crooked River, Crook County, Oregon. OregonGeology.org. 2017-12-28.
- Web site: Field trip guide to the Oligocene Crooked River caldera: Central Oregon's Supervolcano, Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson Counties, Oregon . OregonGeology.org . Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Studies . 2009 . 2014-12-29.
- Web site: BLM launches mercury cleanup at Barnes Butte. Oregonlive.com. 2017-12-28.
- Web site: The IronHorse Trail Map. ironhorseprineville.com. 2017-12-28.
- Web site: Crook County Comprehensive Plan - Adopted 1978, Codified January, 2003. Co.Crook.Or.Us. 2017-12-28.
