Spencer Butte
Spencer Butte is a prominent landmark in Lane County, Oregon, United States, 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
The butte was called Champ-a te or Cham-o-tee by the native 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.
Spencer Butte 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.
References
- ↑ "Spencer Butte - NGS Data Sheet". U.S. National Geodetic Survey. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sullivan, William (2005). 100 Hikes in the Central Oregon Cascades (3rd edition ed.). Eugene, Oregon: Navillus Press. pp. 176–177. ISBN 0-9677830-6-2.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Spencer Butte Park History". City of Eugene. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
- ↑ "Indians, Surveyors, Incidents Gave Names to Streams, Lakes and Mountains". Eugene Register-Guard. 4 January 1942. p. 5. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
External links
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Media related to Spencer Butte at Wikimedia Commons - Official website
Coordinates: 43°59′01″N 123°05′48″W / 43.98361°N 123.09667°W