Black Crater is a broad shield volcano in Oregon’s Western Cascades near McKenzie Pass, shaped by late Pleistocene eruptions and later heavily altered by glaciers that cut into its northeastern side and exposed the cone’s interior. Its mafic lava flows and late-forming cinder cones link it to a chain of Pleistocene volcanic activity extending toward North Sister and to other central Oregon shield volcanoes. The surrounding area was settled in the early 1860s as pioneers worked to open wagon routes through difficult lava country. In the twentieth century the summit area held a Forest Service fire lookout, and today the mountain is chiefly known as a hiking destination with expansive summit views.