{{Short description|Buttes in Wyoming, United States}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Use American English|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox mountain | name = Oregon Buttes | native_name = | other_name = | etymology = | image = Oregon Buttes.JPG | image_caption = Oregon Buttes | image_size = 300 | country = United States | state = Wyoming | region = | district = | district_type = | topo_map = | topo_maker = | parent = | borders_on = | range_coordinates = {{coord|42.259897|N|108.848673|W|type:mountain|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | range_coordinates_ref = | highest = North Butte | elevation_ft = 8562 | elevation_ref = {{Pid|24169| Oregon Buttes}} | coordinates = | location = Sweetwater County | length_mi = | length_orientation = | length_ref = | width_mi = | width_orientation = | width_ref = | area_mi2 = | area_ref = | geology = | orogeny = | age = | map = | map_caption = | map_size = }}
The '''Oregon Buttes''' are three distinctive buttes on the northern end of the Red Desert in the state of Wyoming.
Lying to the south of South Pass along the Continental Divide, they reach a height of {{cvt|8562|ft|m}} and rise some {{convert|1500|ft|m}}<ref name="USGS">{{Cite web |last=Zeller |first=H. D. |title=Geology of the Oregon Buttes Area Sweetwater, Sublette And Fremont Counties Southwestern Wyoming |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/1256/report.pdf}}</ref> above the nearby Oregon Trail.
Pioneers used descriptive names for them, such as "Table Rocks."<ref name="Oregon Buttes, Landmark on the Oregon Trail">{{Cite web |date=February 18, 2017 |title=Oregon Buttes, Landmark on the Oregon Trail |url=https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/oregon-buttes-landmark-oregon-trail |website=WyoHistory}}</ref> Even in the 2020s they remain in a remote area and can be difficult to reach.<ref name="NPS">{{Cite web |title=South Pass - Oregon Buttes |url=https://www.nps.gov/places/000/south-pass-oregon-buttes.htm}}</ref> From the top one can see the Wind River Range to the north, and the Uinta Mountains to the southwest.<ref name="BLM">{{Cite web |title=Oregon Buttes Wilderness Study Area |url=https://www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/wyoming/oregon-buttes-wsa |website=BLM}}</ref>
Petrified wood is found in the area,<ref name="How to Find Rocks">{{Cite web |title=6 Best Location for Finding Petrified Wood Near Me (USA) |url=https://howtofindrocks.com/where-to-find-petrified-wood/}}</ref> but it is closed for hunting of minerals, such as gold panning.<ref name="BLM"/>
Near {{convert|12|mi|km}} southwest of the buttes stands the Tri-Territory site where the Oregon Territory, First Mexican Empire, and the Louisiana Purchase met at a single point.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Near Lander in Fremont County, Wyoming — The American West (Mountains) |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=80499}}</ref><ref name="Bureau of Land Management">{{Cite web |title=US Bureau of Land Management |url=https://www.blm.gov/visit/tri-territory-site}}</ref>
==Relationship to the Oregon Trail== Located just south of South Pass along the Continental Divide over the Rocky Mountains, the Oregon Buttes signified to pioneers on the Oregon Trail the entrance to the Oregon Territory.<ref name="Oregon Buttes, Landmark on the Oregon Trail"/>
In recognition of what they represented, and portended, Theodore Talbot wrote in 1843, "Today we set foot in the Oregon Territory, the land of promise. As of yet it only promises an increased supply of sage and sand."{{cn|date=April 2026}}
In general, travelers on the Oregon Trail considered the Oregon Buttes variously as marking the trail's halfway point, entering the Pacific Watershed,<ref>{{cite book | title = Oregon Buttes, Big Sandy Resource Area, Area of Critical Environmental Concern | pages = | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=XPcxAQAAMAAJ&pg=PP5}}</ref> or, since borders remained unresolved, "Oregon" itself.<ref name="USGS"/>{{not in citation|date=April 2026}}{{cn|date=April 2026}}
==Geography== The Continental Divide of the Americas splits at South Pass, with the Wind River Range to the north and the Oregon Buttes to the south; the Great Divide Basin lies to the Buttes' southeast.
==Ecology== The Oregon Buttes feature many types of vegetation, including thick stands of aspen, groves of limber pine, and meadows.<ref name="NPS"/> The area is prime raptor habitat.<ref name="BLM"/>
==Geology== The buttes consist of soil layers and rocks from the Wasatch Formation (from lower to middle Eocene). This unit consists of variegated red, purple, and green mudstones and sandstones deposited by ancient river systems. This is followed by the Laney Member of the Green River Formation (middle Eocene). These are the remnants of Lake Gosiute, a massive prehistoric lake that once covered the Red Desert. Finally, the Bridger Formation (middle Eocene), which is famous for its mammalian fossils, similar to Fossil Butte near Kemmerer. The summits are capped by the Arikaree Formation (lower Miocene), which includes tuffaceous sandstones and conglomerates that have protected the softer underlying layers from erosion.<ref>{{cite report |last1=Zeller |first1=H. D. |last2=Stephens |first2=E. V. |date=1969 |title=Geology of the Oregon Buttes Area, Sweetwater, Sublette, and Fremont Counties, Southwestern Wyoming |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/1256/report.pdf |publisher=United States Geological Survey |series=U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin |issue=1256 |access-date=January 11, 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite report |last=Van Loenen |first=R. E. |date=1987 |title=Mineral Resources of the Oregon Buttes Wilderness Study Area, Sweetwater County, Wyoming |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/1757j/report.pdf |publisher=United States Geological Survey |series=U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin |issue=1757-J |access-date=January 11, 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.blm.gov/visit/oregon-buttes-wsa |title=Oregon Buttes Wilderness Study Area |publisher=Bureau of Land Management |access-date=January 11, 2026}}</ref> The Bridger and Green River formations have yielded primitive mammals, including early primates and rhinoceros-like herbivores. Specifically, fossils of the genus Lambdotherium have been documented in the area.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wsgs.wyo.gov/docs/wsgs-web-postcard-o.pdf |title=Oregon Buttes |publisher=Wyoming State Geological Survey |access-date=January 11, 2026}}</ref>
==See also== * Boars Tusk * Crowheart Butte
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.landscapeimagery.com/oregonbuttes.html Some photos] * [https://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=62401 Peakbagger on climbing North Butte] * [https://www.summitpost.org/south-oregon-butte/676643 SummitPost on climbing South Oregon Butte] * [https://www.summitpost.org/north-oregon-butte/314961 SummitPost on climbing North Butte] * [https://www.wyohistory.org/field-trips/oregon-buttes Wyoming History site, which has a map] * [https://cms7files1.revize.com/sweetwaterwy/document_center/Board/County%20Commissioners/WSA%20info/Oregon%20Buttes%20WSA.pdf Oregon Buttes Wilderness Study Area, its area: 5,700 acres]
Category:Buttes of Wyoming