Butte Creek Canyon
Map SatelliteAbove the Forks of the Butte, Butte Creek runs through a steep-sided deep canyon cut through Tertiary volcanics and mud flows and pre-Cretaceous metavolcanics. There are some serpentine areas near the Forks.
Several plant communities are represented, the dominant being a mixed conifer with extensive stands of ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa, sugar pine, Pinus lambertiana, Douglas fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii, and red fir, Abies magnifica. Tan-oak, Lithocarpus densiflora, and several species of oak, including interior live oak, Quercus wislizenii, are also present.
Some chaparral occurs in the area, and along the creek there is a riparian association.
An abundance of animal life is found in the canyon.
Integrity: Portions have been logged and there has been some grazing; however, most of the area is virtually undisturbed.
Use: Research, educational, observational, present. Some private.
August 1977
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman