Malheur Butte is an extinct volcano located in

Malheur County, Oregon Malheur County () is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,571. Its county seat is Vale, and its largest city is Ontario. The county was named after the Malheur River, which runs thr ...

. Between 20 and 15 million years ago, the region from north-central Washington to northeastern California experienced a series of volcanic eruptions and basalt lava floods that covered thousands of square miles. These ancient lava floods often dammed streams, creating lakes and swamps that may have lasted for millions of years before filling with sediment or draining as erosion slowly lowered their outlets. The western

Snake River The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, in turn, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Snake ...

plain contained many such lakes, and geologists believe that between 8 and 2 million years ago, "Lake Idaho" covered much of central eastern Oregon. Sediment deposited in this lake once covered Malheur Butte, and during the last 2 million years the Malheur River and other eroding forces slowly exposed and shaped today's landmark. Although Malheur Butte has been inactive for millions of years, Malheur County is still alive with geothermal activity in the form of hot springs. The rock is slightly over 100 meters higher than the surrounding plains and the peak is 790 meters above sea level.

Etymology

Malheur (pronounced phonetically by residents) is French for "misfortune," "bad fortune," or "unhappiness," most likely taken from the Malheur River that flows nearby.

Peter Skene Ogden Peter Skene Ogden (alternately Skeene, Skein, or Skeen; baptised 12 February 1790 – 27 September 1854) was a British-Canadian fur trader and an early explorer of what is now British Columbia and the Western United States. During his many expedi ...

, a trader accompanied by French-Canadian hunters, explained in his journal in 1826 that the Malheur River was so named because property and furs that had been hidden in the vicinity had been discovered and stolen by natives.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Malheur Butte
Oregon Volcanic Past

Landmarks in Oregon Rock formations of Oregon Landforms of Malheur County, Oregon Volcanoes of Oregon