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Pilot Butte (Oregon) facts for kids

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Pilot Butte
PilotButteBend.jpg
Highest point
Elevation 4,142 ft (1,262 m) NAVD 88
Prominence 480 ft (150 m)
Geography
Pilot Butte is located in Bend OR
Pilot Butte
Pilot Butte
Location in Bend OR
Pilot Butte is located in Oregon
Pilot Butte
Pilot Butte
Location in Oregon
Parent range Cascades
Topo map USGS Bend
Geology
Age of rock Less than 780,000 years
Mountain type Cinder cone
Volcanic arc Cascade Volcanic Arc
Climbing
Easiest route Road

Pilot Butte is a special hill in Bend, Oregon. It's actually a cinder cone, which is a type of extinct volcano. This means it won't erupt again! Pilot Butte rises about 500 feet (152 meters) above the flat land around it.

Bend is one of only four cities in the United States that has a volcano right inside its city limits. In Oregon, Portland also has one called Mount Tabor. The other cities with volcanoes are Jackson, Mississippi (with Jackson Volcano) and Honolulu, Hawaii (with Diamond Head).

Pilot Butte is a very popular spot for outdoor fun. It's part of the Pilot Butte State Scenic Viewpoint, a park that covers about 114 acres (46 hectares). This park was given to the state of Oregon in 1928.

Exploring Pilot Butte

Pilot Butte is a great place to go hiking. There are two trails that lead all the way to the top. Each trail climbs about 490 feet (149 meters) in height. If you prefer a flatter walk, there's also a 1.8-mile (2.9 km) trail around the bottom of the butte. This trail was built in 2010.

You can also drive a scenic road that winds up and around the cone. From the very top, you can see the entire city of Bend spread out below. You can also spot several big mountains from the Cascade Mountains. The most famous ones you can see are the Three Sisters, Broken Top, and Mount Bachelor. These mountains are about 20 miles (32 km) to the west.

Pilot Butte is a very busy park. In 2018, nearly a million people visited it! This makes it the most visited Oregon State Park east of the Cascade Mountains. It's also the ninth most popular state park in all of Oregon.

Fun Facts and History

Every year, the city of Bend launches its Fourth of July fireworks from Pilot Butte. It's a fantastic place to watch the show!

Pilot Butte got its name in 1851. It was named by Thomas Clark, who led the first group of European settlers to camp where Bend is now. Clark's group came from the east after a difficult journey.

How Pilot Butte Formed

Pilot Butte is a cinder cone volcano. It was formed by volcanic eruptions long ago. Scientists believe Pilot Butte is less than 780,000 years old. They know this because of the way the rocks' magnetic fields are aligned. This alignment shows the rocks were formed after a big change in Earth's magnetic poles.



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