Black Butte is an extinct stratovolcano in central Oregon that rises prominently above the Metolius Valley near Sisters. Part of the Cascade volcanic arc, it is a steep-sided composite cone of basaltic andesite, more than 3,000 feet above the surrounding plateau and older than any other visible High Cascades volcano nearby. Its eruptions reshaped the local landscape by burying the ancestral Metolius River, damming drainages, and helping divide the valley into distinct northern and southern basins. Well preserved despite erosion, it also anchors an ecologically rich area of forests, springs, wildlife, and recreation, while its summit has long been used for fire lookout structures.