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Spencer Butte

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Coordinates: 43°59′01″N 123°05′48″W / 43.98361°N 123.09667°W / 43.98361; -123.09667
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View of Eugene from Skinner Butte, with Spencer Butte in the distance

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's Butte is accessible from Spencer's Butte Park and has several hiking trails to the summit.[2] There is no tree cover on the butte, however there are many diverse trees at its summit, giving the butte the appearance of an awkward mushroom at first glance. The butte is the tallest point visible when looking south from downtown Eugene.

Name

View north across the summit

The butte was called Champ-a te or Cham-o-tee by the native Kalapuya, meaning rattlesnake.[3]

One unpopular 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 raped, killed and eaten 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.

  • 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

View of the southern Willamette Valley from the summit of Spencer Butte.
  1. ^ "Spencer Butte - NGS Data Sheet". U.S. National Geodetic Survey. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  2. ^ a b Sullivan, William (2005). 100 Hikes in the Central Oregon Cascades (3rd ed.). Eugene, Oregon: Navillus Press. pp. 176–177. ISBN 0-9677830-6-2.
  3. ^ a b "Spencer Butte Park History". City of Eugene. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  4. ^ "Indians, Surveyors, Incidents Gave Names to Streams, Lakes and Mountains". Eugene Register-Guard. 4 January 1942. p. 5. Retrieved 23 April 2015.

43°59′01″N 123°05′48″W / 43.98361°N 123.09667°W / 43.98361; -123.09667


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