Steptoe Butte
Encyclopedia
Quartzite
Quartzite is a hard metamorphic rock which was originally sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. Pure quartzite is usually white to gray, though quartzites often occur in various shades of pink...
island jutting out of the silty loess
Loess
Loess is an aeolian sediment formed by the accumulation of wind-blown silt, typically in the 20–50 micrometre size range, twenty percent or less clay and the balance equal parts sand and silt that are loosely cemented by calcium carbonate...
of the Palouse
Palouse
The Palouse is a region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of southeastern Washington, north central Idaho and, in some definitions, extending south into northeast Oregon. It is a major agricultural area, primarily producing wheat and legumes...
hills in Whitman County, Washington
Whitman County, Washington
Whitman County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2010 census, the population was 44,776, with the majority living in its largest city, Pullman, home to Washington State University, the state's land-grant university. The county seat is at Colfax.Whitman County was...
. It is contained by Steptoe Butte State Park
Steptoe Butte State Park
Steptoe Butte State Park in Whitman County, Washington is one of the Washington State Parks. It consists of centered on a natural quartzite monument named Steptoe Butte that looms above the surrounding plains east of Colfax.-References:...
. The rock that forms the butte is over 400 million years old, in contrast with the 15–7 million year old Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
s that underlie the rest of the Palouse. Steptoe Butte has become an archetype, as isolated protrusions of bedrock, such as summits of hills or mountains, in lava flows have come to be called steptoes.
A hotel built by Cashup Davis stood atop Steptoe butte from 1888 to 1908, burning down several years after it closed. In 1946, Virgil McCroskey donated 120 acre (0.4856232 km²) of land to form Steptoe Butte State Park
Steptoe Butte State Park
Steptoe Butte State Park in Whitman County, Washington is one of the Washington State Parks. It consists of centered on a natural quartzite monument named Steptoe Butte that looms above the surrounding plains east of Colfax.-References:...
, which was later increased to over 150 acre (0.607029 km²). Steptoe Butte is currently recognized as a National Natural Landmark because of its unique geological value. It is named in honor of Colonel Edward Steptoe.
A narrow paved road winds around the butte, leading to a parking area at the summit. Popular activities include:
- Sight-seeing
- Hang glidingHang glidingHang gliding is an air sport in which a pilot flies a light and unmotorized foot-launchable aircraft called a hang glider ....
- Flying kites
- Model airplanes
- PhotographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
Elevation: 3612 feet (1,100.9 m), approximately 1000 feet (304.8 m) above the surrounding countryside.