Spencer Butte

Coordinates: 43°58′59″N 123°05′45″W / 43.9831°N 123.0957°W / 43.9831; -123.0957
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Spencer Butte
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GeologyButte

Spencer Butte is a prominent landmark in Lane County, Oregon, United States, described in the National Geodetic Survey as "a prominent timbered butte with a bare rocky summit" on the southern edge of Eugene, with an elevation of 2,058 feet (627 m).[1] Spencer Butte is accessible from Spencer Butte Park and has several hiking trails to the summit.[2] The tree cover on the butte is predominantly Douglas fir; however, the butte is treeless at its summit. The butte is the tallest point visible when looking south from downtown Eugene.

Name

View north across the summit

The

Kalapuya, meaning rattlesnake.[3]

One popular theory is that Spencer Butte was named for a young Englishman of the Hudson's Bay Company named Spencer, who was said to have been killed by the Kalapuya after climbing the hill alone.[4] Another, less popular theory holds that the butte was named after Secretary of War John C. Spencer in July 1845 by Elijah White.[2][3] Spencer was no longer Secretary of War by 1845, however.

In popular culture

  • The song "All Of Me Wants All You" by Sufjan Stevens mentions Spencer Butte twice; the song is from the album Carrie & Lowell, which also includes a song titled "Eugene" after the city, and makes many other references to places in Oregon.[5]

Geology

Spencer Butte is

volcanic in origin, potentially being a volcanic plug
.

References

View of the southern Willamette Valley from the summit of Spencer Butte.
  1. ^ a b c "Spencer Butte - NGS Data Sheet". U.S. National Geodetic Survey. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  2. ^ .
  3. ^ a b "Spencer Butte Park History" (PDF). City of Eugene. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 21, 2011. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  4. Eugene Register-Guard
    . 4 January 1942. p. 5. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  5. ^ Wright, Craig. "Emerald Recommends the best albums of 2015". Emerald Media. Retrieved April 15, 2016.

External links