Mount Pisgah is a hill in Lane County, Oregon, United States, rising above the surrounding Willamette Valley to a maximum elevation of . It was named after the biblical Mount Pisgah. It is situated between the Coast Fork and Middle Fork of the Willamette River, two miles (3 km) southeast of their confluence.

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

is immediately north of Mount Pisgah, and the city of

Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...

is a few miles west. It is the site of the 2363-acre (956 hectare) Howard Buford Recreation Area as well as the non-profit Mount Pisgah Arboretum at its base.

Recreation

Several hiking trails are maintained by the Lane County Parks Department on Mount Pisgah. The summit is accessible by a steep trail from a parking area near the base of the hill. Several other trails make their way through the adjacent arboretum and up the slopes. The summit offers a panoramic view of the southern Willamette Valley and includes a bronze relief sculpture (a memorial for Ken Kesey's son Jed) illustrating the surrounding topography and identifying many nearby geographic features.

Arboretum

The Mount Pisgah Arboretum covers at the base of Mount Pisgah and offers visitors of trails through natural riverside habitat and hundreds of cataloged plant species. As of May 2020, admission is $5 per car and permits can be purchased at a self-service pay station, card only.

Geology

The hill consists of basalt or its intrusive equivalent

diabase Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-graine ...

. Small crystals of calcite and various zeolite minerals are often seen where the rock outcrops, especially near the summit. Specific minerals found in the area include agate,

calcite Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on ...

, heulandite, jasper, malachite,

mesolite Mesolite is a tectosilicate mineral with formula Na2 Ca2( Al2 Si3 O10)3·8 H2O. It is a member of the zeolite group and is closely related to natrolite which it also resembles in appearance. Mesolite crystallizes in the orthorhombic system and t ...

, and quartz

Controversy

Wildish Land Company owns of undisturbed land adjacent to the park and has filed an Oregon

Measure 37 Oregon Ballot Measure 37 was a controversial land-use ballot initiative that passed in the U.S. state of Oregon in 2004 and is now codified as Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 195.305. Measure 37 has figured prominently in debates about the rights of ...

claim. The claim seeks either compensation of $15 million for diminution in land value caused by state and county land use regulations enacted since Wildish acquired the property, or in the alternative, a waiver of offending land use regulations enacted since its acquisition. The land is zoned for gravel production with an estimated value, under current zoning, at around $5 million. As an alternative to development or compensation, some have suggested the controversy represents a historic opportunity to purchase the land, integrate it with the existing park, and eventually link the expanded Howard Buford Recreation Area with other undeveloped land as part of a greater Eugene greenway. On December 6, 2006, Lane County approved Wildish's Measure 37 claim, waiving non-exempt offending regulations enacted since Wildish acquired the property. The

Oregon Department of Administrative Services The Department of Administrative Services is the agency of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon which is chiefly responsible, through its nine divisions, for administering all of the programs of the Governor and the executive branch, as well ...

has not yet ruled on Wildish's state application. Before any development may happen, Wildish must still receive a waiver from the state, and it must still submit a development application to the county.

References

External links

Lane County government article about the locationUSGS 1:24000 Topographic MapsOpinion in Eugene ''Register-Guard''

Friends of Buford Park & Mount Pisgah

Mt. Pisgah Arboretum
{{Authority control Landmarks in Oregon Hills of Oregon Landforms of Lane County, Oregon