Mount Shasta and Black Butte

Black Butte is a plug dome at the base of Mount Shasta between the towns of Weed and Mount Shasta City, just east of I-5. The red and gray rocks have black crystals in them and have been used locally to make rock walls, chimneys, and buildings. Black Butte has had several names. Josiah Dwight Whitney named it Cone Mountain in 1865. It has also been called Sugar Loaf and Muir's Peak. To make things more confusing, the Whaleback on the north side of Mount Shasta used to be called Black Butte.