Barnes Butte

Barnes Butte
The north slope of Barnes Butte with Barnes Butte Reservoir below.
Highest point
Elevation	3,549
Coordinates	44°19′07″N120°48′38″W / 44.31861°N 120.81056°W / 44.31861; -120.81056
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 December 28, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
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 December 28, 2017.
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 December 29, 2014.
4. "BLM launches mercury cleanup at Barnes Butte". Oregonlive.com. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
5. "The IronHorse Trail Map". ironhorseprineville.com. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
6. "Crook County Comprehensive Plan - Adopted 1978, Codified January, 2003" (PDF). Co.Crook.Or.Us. Retrieved December 28, 2017.