Shatter Hill

Shatter Hill is a mesa in Barlow County in the Melisende Dulac Series.

Details

Located in a southern Barlow County, the Old Mortuary and Pioneer Cemetery can be found on its tableland, as well as Escallier Crater State Park. The northern rimrock of Shatter Hill is visible from Crestview, possibly inspiring the name of the high country hamlet. Kimble's Hole Mine is located at the foot of the hill in a draw on the southeast face of the hill.

During the early days of Oregon settlement, the mesa was informally known as Ragged Top. After the 1869 death of Oregon Trail pioneer Molly Claire Maguire due to a fall, the hill was often referred to as Molly Claire's Shattering. In time, the name was formalized as Shatter Hill.

Geologists believe the mesa was formed during a period of local uplift 600,000 years before the present preceding the initial eruptive events that would form Lost Brother Butte. Though 500 feet higher in elevation, the basalt on the mesa's tableland is geologically contiguous with the surface rock of the broad valley between Shatter Hill and Lost Brother Butte. The structure of the valleys to the south is a mix of much sedimentary and metamorphic rock with igneous intrusions. Where formations meet, metals have been found in commercially viable concentrations.

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Appearances