Barnes Butte

Barnes Butte
The north slope of Barnes Butte with Barnes Butte Reservoir below.
Highest point
Elevation	3,549
Coordinates	44°19′07″N 120°48′38″W
Geography
Location	Crook County, Oregon, U.S.
Geology
Rock age	~27.5 Ma[1]

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 4-mile (6.4 km) 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]

References

1. "Preliminary Geology of the Lower Crooked River Basin". OregonGeology.org. Archived from the original on 2017-12-28. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
2. "Field trip guide to the Neogene stratigraphy of the Lower Crooked Basin and the ancestral Crooked River, Crook County, Oregon" (PDF). OregonGeology.org. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
3. "Field trip guide to the Oligocene Crooked River caldera: Central Oregon's Supervolcano, Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson Counties, Oregon" (PDF). OregonGeology.org. Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Studies. 2009. Retrieved 2014-12-29.
4. "BLM launches mercury cleanup at Barnes Butte". Oregonlive.com. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
5. "The IronHorse Trail Map". ironhorseprineville.com. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
6. "Crook County Comprehensive Plan - Adopted 1978, Codified January, 2003" (PDF). Co.Crook.Or.Us. Retrieved 2017-12-28.