Aspen Butte

Aspen Butte
Aspen Butte is located in Oregon
Aspen Butte
Aspen Butte
Location in Oregon
Highest point
Elevation8,215 ft (2,504 m) NAVD 88[1]
Prominence3,088 ft (941 m)[2]
Coordinates42°18′56″N 122°05′15″W / 42.315491489°N 122.087565778°W / 42.315491489; -122.087565778[1]
Geography
LocationKlamath County, Oregon, U.S.
Parent rangeCascade Range
Topo mapUSGS Aspen Lake
Geology
Rock age4.9-3.5 Ma[3]
Mountain typeShield volcano
Volcanic arcCascade Volcanic Arc
Last eruptionPleistocene
Climbing
Easiest routeTrail

Aspen Butte is a steep-sided shield volcano in the Cascade Range of southern Oregon. It is located 15 miles (24 km) south of Pelican Butte and 15 miles (24 km) southeast of Mount McLoughlin. It rises over 4,000 feet (1,200 m) above the nearby shore of Upper Klamath Lake. Ice Age glaciers carved three large cirques into the north and northeast flanks of the mountain removing most of the original summit area including any evidence of a crater. The summit is now the high point along the curving ridge which bounds the southern edge of the cirques above steep cliffs.

Aspen Butte is the highest of four overlapping shield volcanoes within the Mountain Lakes Wilderness all of which have been carved to varying degrees by glaciers. The other volcanoes are 7,979-foot (2,432 m) Mount Harriman,[4][5] 7,785-foot (2,373 m) Crater Mountain and 7,741-foot (2,359 m) Greylock Mountain. Another peak, 7,882-foot (2,402 m) Mount Carmine,[6] which lies just over 1 mile (1.6 km) to the north of Aspen Butte, is actually not a separate volcano but the highest remnant of the north flank of the Aspen Butte volcano separated from it by two glacial cirques. Little Aspen Butte, a 7,235-foot (2,205 m) satellite cone, rises on the southern flanks of the main volcano separated from it by a 6,556-foot (1,998 m) pass.

  1. ^ a b "Aspen". NGS Data Sheet. National Geodetic Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Department of Commerce. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
  2. ^ "Aspen Butte, Oregon". peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference usgs_1984 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Mount Harriman, Oregon". peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  5. ^ "Mount Harriman". NGS Data Sheet. National Geodetic Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Department of Commerce. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
  6. ^ "Mount Carmine, Oregon". peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2021-12-02.