Hayrick Butte is a tuya, a type of subglacial volcano, in Linn County, Oregon. Located on the Willamette National Forest near Santiam Pass, it lies adjacent to the cinder coneHoodoo Butte, which has a ski area. Hayrick Butte likely formed when lava erupted underneath an overlying glacier or ice sheet, producing the flat top with near-vertical walls along the ice-contact margin as the lava cooled and hardened. Hayrick Butte has a nearly flat plateau about 0.5 miles (0.80km) across and steep walls rising about 700 feet (0.21km) above its surroundings. A cartographer accidentally switched the names for nearby Hoodoo Butte and Hayrick Butte; the word "hoodoo" usually refers to rock piles and pinnacles like those observed at Hayrick Butte.
Compared to Hoodoo Butte, Hayrick is less popular for recreation, though it can be climbed, and there are hiking, snowshoeing, and snowmobile routes surrounding the butte. Its north-facing slope has subalpine forests with mountain hemlock and fir, which are common in the Cascades.
Geography
Hayrick Butte is located in the Cascade Range in eastern Linn County in the U.S. state of Oregon.[1] It lies south of Three Fingered Jack near Hoodoo Butte, Sand Mountain Field, Potato Butte, and Black Butte, with Belknap Crater and Mount Washington farther to the south.[2] Administratively, it is within the McKenzie Ranger District of the Willamette National Forest.[3] According to the Geographic Names Information System, Hayrick Butte has an elevation of 5,482 feet (1,671m);[1] in 1980, the Willamette National Forest Gazetteer listed its elevation as 5,575 feet (1,699m).[3] The butte has a width of about 0.5 miles (0.80km).[4]
Hayrick Butte is located next to the Hoodoo ski area.[5] In response to a new master plan at the Hoodoo Ski Bowl in 1995, the United States Forest Service released a draft environmental impact statement for the surroundings.[6] The Forest Service argued that development at Hoodoo Butte and Hayrick Butte would require excavating and/or blasting20,000 to 28,000 cubic yards (15,000 to 21,000m3) of soil and rock on Hayrick Butte, which would potentially exacerbate erosion of local soil.[7] The removal of this soil and rock would also substantially limit future revegetation, further reducing soil productivity in the area.[8]
Ecology
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife determined in the early 1990s that there was potential for peregrine falcon nests at Hayrick Butte, though it was considered low-quality habitat because of its lack of suitable ledges and high amounts of human disturbance.[9] The forest on the steep, north-facing slope of Hayrick Butte consists of mountain hemlock and mature fir trees[10] at an elevation of 5,090 feet (1,550m).[10][11] Oroboreal subalpine forests like these usually occur above elevations of 4,900 feet (1,500m) in the Cascades, in areas with cool, wet climates. Mean precipitation for these zones ranges from 1,500 to 3,000 millimetres (59 to 118in), with cool summers and cold, snowy winters. Dense forests are less common at higher elevations, where typically patchy forest stands are separated by shrubland or meadows.[12]
Geology
Summary
About 4.5 million years ago, eruption of mafic lava filled a subsidingPliocenedepression, creating the modern, mafic High Cascades.[13] The part of the High Cascades that extends south from Mount Jefferson to Santiam Pass includes shield volcanoes, lava domes, and cinder cones.[14] Like Hogg Rock, Hayrick Butte is a flat-topped, andesitic lava dome[15] and tuya of late Pleistocene age.[16][17] The andesitic lava is porphyritic and contains plagioclase, orthopyroxene and trace amounts of olivinephenocrysts.[18] Both Hayrick Butte and Hogg Rock have been eroded by Pleistocene glaciation,[19] leaving glassy margins and jointing.[17] Hayrick Butte blocked the advance of glacial ice from eroding the summit crater of Hoodoo Butte.[15]
Geologic setting
Most lava domes in the Cascades occur in clusters or surrounding just a few major volcanic centers. There are roughly 190 known lava domes in the state of Oregon, with 40 near Mount Jefferson, 22 near the Tumalo volcanic highland, 28 near the Three Sisters, and close to 60 surrounding Mount Mazama. Hayrick Butte, however, is more isolated from other volcanoes.[20] Hayrick Butte, along with Benchmark Butte, formed more than 12 miles (20km) from any major stratovolcano.[20][21]
The high elevation of Matuyama-aged rocks east of Santiam Pass, coupled with exposure of Brunhes-aged rocks to the west, imply the presence of a northward-trending normal fault.[22]
Geochemistry
Hayrick Butte has a normal magnetic polarity.[17] Like Hogg Rock and other andesite lava domes in the area, it has lower incompatible element abundances than surrounding andesitic rock deposits.[17] A 1992 element abundance analysis of Hayrick Butte andesite samples from the margin of the volcano shows a silicon dioxide (silica) level of 60.1percent, aluminum oxide level of 18.4percent, calcium oxide level of 6.24percent, iron(II) oxide level of 5.55percent, and sodium oxide level of 4.42percent. Magnesium oxide made up 3.3percent of the samples, with potassium oxide levels at 1.08percent and manganese(II) oxide, phosphorus pentoxide, and titanium dioxide all below 1percent.[23] Additional studies from 1980 and 1983 exhibit similar levels of silica in samples from Hogg Rock and Hayrick Butte at about 59–60percent.[16][18]
Human history
According to cartographer Stuart Allen, an early cartographer[24] accidentally switched the names for nearby Hoodoo Butte and Hayrick Butte. The word "hoodoo" refers to rock piles and pinnacles like those observed at Hayrick Butte,[24] while "hayrick" is a synonym for haystack, a more fitting name for Hoodoo Butte, which has a profile that resembles a haystack shape. Whether or not this error actually occurred remains unclear, but the names remain to present day.[25]
Recreation
The Obsidian Climb School and Eugene Mountain Rescue offer climbing classes and field sessions at Hayrick Butte.[26] A tubing hill (Autobahn Tubing Park) is on the lower part of the north flank of the butte with 800-foot (240m) long tube lanes serviced by a handle tow.[27] A backcountry snowshoeing trail runs for 4 miles (6.4km) from the Hoodoo ski area,[28] rising about 200 feet (61m) in elevation over its course.[29] The route travels between Hayrick and Hoodoo Butte, offering views of Mount Washington.[30] There is an avalanche hazard near Hayrick's base.[30] An old roadbed next to the trail travels up Hoodoo Butte to the Hoodoo Butte Plateau[30] and the butte's summit,[31] where a historic fire cleared many trees.[31] There are snowmobile routes down the old Santiam Pass Wagon Road to the south and Forest Road 2690 to the east,[31] as well as a geocache at Hayrick's summit.[24] Markian Hawryluk of The Bulletin in Bend described Hayrick as "antisocial" compared to the "family-friendly ski area" of Hoodoo Butte,[24] citing its 700-foot (210m) tall, nearly vertical walls.[24] The tuya is also surrounded by cliffs.[4] William Sullivan of The Register-Guard wrote that Hayrick offered "breathtaking views" of Mount Jefferson, Big Lake, Hoodoo Butte, Mount Washington, and Black Butte.[4] Hayrick Butte is also visible from the 6.9-mile (11.1km) Patjens Lake Loop trail near Santiam Pass.[32]
"Obsidian Climb School at the Coburg Caves"(PDF), The Obsidian Bulletin, vol.78, no.3, The Obsidians, pp.1–14, March 2018, archived(PDF) from the original on December 19, 2018, retrieved December 18, 2018.
Rikkinen, J. (2003b). "New resinicolous ascomycetes from beaver scars in western North America". Annales Botanici Fennici. 40 (6). Finnish Zoological and Botanical Publishing Board: 443–450. ISSN0003-3847. JSTOR23726801.
