Roxy Ann Peak

Infobox Mountain
Name = Roxy Ann Peak
Photo = Roxy Ann Mountain.jpg
Caption = Roxy Ann Peak overlooks Medford from the east.
Elevation = convert|3573|ft|m [ cite web
url = http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/ds_mark.prl?PidBox=NZ1108
title = NGS Data Sheet for ROXY ANN
publisher = U.S. National Geodetic Survey
accessdate = 2008-04-02 ]
Location = Jackson County, Oregon, USA
Range = Cascade Range cite web
url = http://soda.sou.edu/awdata/030923d1.pdf
page = 19
title = The Distribution and Occurrence of the Birds of Jackson County, Oregon
last = Browning
first = M. Ralph
publisher = Fish and Wildlife Service
date = 1975
work = North American Fauna, Number 70
accessdate = 2008-04-02 ]
Prominence = convert|2191|ft|m
Coordinates = coord|42.3548497|-122.7869815|format=dms|region:US_type:mountain [GNIS|1126347accessdate|2008-04-02]
Topographic
USGS Medford East 42122-C7
Type =
Volcanic_Arc/Belt =
Age =
First ascent =
Easiest route =

Roxy Ann Peak is a dormant volcano located at the eastern edge of Medford, Oregon. Rising Convert|3573|ft|m above sea level, and over Convert|2000|ft|m above the valley floor, the mountain is a very recognizable figure throughout the Rogue Valley. cite web
url = http://www.roxyannlanes.com/html/about.html
title = A Little History
publisher = Roxy Ann Lanes
accessdate = 2008-04-02 ] A Convert|180|foot|m radio tower is currently being built on the summit of the peak, which will replace three of the four existing towers. cite news
url = http://archive.mailtribune.com/archive/2006/1231/local/stories/roxy-ann-bm.htm
title = Tower will improve emergency services
last = Miller
first = Bill
publisher = Mail Tribune
date = 2006-12-31
accessdate = 2008-10-06 ]

History

The mountain that is now called Roxy Ann Peak was known to the Takelma Indians for thousands of years as Al-wiya. The most probable usage for the peak was as a lookout, since from there even Mount Shasta, nearly convert|100|mi|km to the south, can be seen clearly. cite web
url = http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/258679/roxy-ann-peak.html
title = Roxy Ann Peak
publisher = Summitpost.org
accessdate = 2008-04-02 ] The mountain was also a good place for hunting black-tailed deer and small birds, animals which are still abundant in the area today. cite news
url = http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070923/NEWS/709230322/-1/NEWS
title = A View of Roxy Ann Peak
last = Miller
first = Bill
publisher = Mail Tribune
date = 2007-09-23
accessdate = 2008-04-02 ] cite news
title = Bits of lost Takelma language preserved
url = http://archive.mailtribune.com/archive/98/aug98/81698n1.htm
last = Fattig
first = Paul
date = 1998-08-16
accessdate = 2008-04-02
publisher = Mail Tribune ] Some residents of the Rogue Valley claim that Roxy Ann Peak was once known as Skinner Butte (sometimes Skinner's Butte). cite news
title = Roxy Ann is named for pioneer woman
url = http://archive.mailtribune.com/archive/2006/0123/local/stories/15local.htm
date = 2006-01-23
accessdate = 2008-04-02
publisher = Mail Tribune
work = Since You Asked ] The name is likely attributed to an Ohio attorney named Alonzo A. Skinner (1814-1877), who worked as an Indian agent in the 1850s. cite news
title = Now then, Jennings, here it is
url = http://archive.mailtribune.com/archive/2002/0928/local/stories/07local.htm
publisher = Mail Tribune
work = Since You Asked
date = 2002-09-28
accessdate = 2008-04-02 ] After his appointment, Skinner unsuccessfully ran for the United States Congress against Joseph Lane, Oregon's first territorial governor. He died as a judge in Santa Cruz, California in April, 1877. cite book
url = http://books.google.com/books?id=MTITAAAAYAAJ
title = The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft
last = Bancroft
first = Hubert Howe
authorlink = Hubert Howe Bancroft
date = 1888
publisher = A. L. Bancroft & company
page = pp. 309-310 ] The actual name of the mountain came from some of the earliest settlers of Jackson County. By 1853, almost the entire peak had been claimed by two couples, Stephan and Mary A Taylor, and John and Roxy Ann Bowen. They owned the land for nearly 70 years, and in time the mountain came to be known as Roxy Ann Peak. Residents of Medford have taken pride in their mountain, first by declaring the town's independence day on its peak in 1884, and later by protecting the area as a city park.

Prescott Park

In 1929, the Lions Club purchased a sizable portion of land on the peak, and in the following year donated convert|200|acre|km2|1 to Medford. A year after that, the city bought another convert|1500|acre|km2|1 under the Federal Lands for Parks Act. Now, at Convert|2.72|sqmi|km2|2, Prescott Park is Medford's largest park and covers much of the summit of Roxy Ann. [ cite web
url = http://archive.mailtribune.com/archive/2006/0818/life/stories/web_activities.htm
title = Activities
publisher = Mail Tribune
date = 2006-08-18
accessdate = 2008-04-02 ] It was named in 1937 in honor of Constable George J. Prescott, a police officer killed in the line of duty on March 16, 1933. cite news
url = http://archive.mailtribune.com/archive/2003/0316/local/stories/07local.htm
title = Rededication ceremony honors Medford's first traffic officer who was shot and killed
last = Briskley
first = Jill
publisher = Mail Tribune
date = 2003-03-16
accessdate = 2008-04-02 ] During the latter part of the 1990s, the park (and Roxy Ann Peak itself) experienced a surge in vandalism, littering, and even wildfires due to off-road vehicles. Medford Police officers devoted much of their time to patrolling the mountain, which created even more of a strain due to the park's location and accessibility. In 2000, the city installed the upper gate in an effort to limit vehicle traffic after certain hours. [cite web
last = Smith
first = Jessica
url = http://archive.mailtribune.com/archive/2000/july/072200n1.htm
title = Police, neighbors work together to curtail damage to Prescott Park
publisher = Mail Tribune
date = 2000-07-22
accessdate = 2008-04-02 ] [ cite web
url = http://www.ci.medford.or.us/Files/Prescott%20Brochure.pdf
publisher = City of Medford
title = Prescott Park (brochure)
accessdate = 2008-04-02 ]

Geology

The volcano cite web
url = http://www.ashland.or.us/Page.asp?NavID_=_9063
title = Ashland Trails Master Plan: Appendix C: Geology
publishers = City of Ashland, Trails Master Plan Committee, Parks & Recreation Department, Community Development Department, Public Works Department, National Park Service (Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program), Ashland Woodlands and Trails Association
date = 2006-02-07
accessdate = 2008-04-02] which is now Roxy Ann Peak is approximately 30 million years old. cite web
url = https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/dspace/bitstream/1794/2203/1/Medford_Hazard_Mitigation_Plan.pdf
title = Medford Hazard Mitigation
last = Faw
first = John E.
publisher = University of Oregon Scholars' Bank
date = August 2004
accessdate = 2008-04-02 ] As with all of the Cascades, it was formed when the Juan de Fuca Plate subducted under the North American Plate, creating magma which erupted throughout the center of northern California to southern British Columbia. However, there is some controversy as to if it has ever erupted, with recent evidence suggesting that it may not be volcanic at all. cite news
url = http://www.dailytidings.com/2004/0112/011204b1.shtml
title = A Valley in Flux
last = Darling
first = John
date = 2004-01-12
publisher = Ashland Daily Tidings
accessdate = 2008-04-02 ] The bedrock around the area is mostly granite and basalt. cite web
url = https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/dspace/bitstream/1794/1307/1/Ashland_Compplan.pdf
title = Comprehensive Plan: Section 4.03: Description of Major Rock Groups
date = 2005-09-02
publisher = City of Ashland
accessdate = 2008-04-02 ] Over time earthquakes and landslides have eroded away most of the top and much of the base area, leaving the familiar cone shape seen today. The unique appearance and the difference in elevation create a landmark distinguishable from as far away as Ashland, Oregon and the Siskiyou Pass on Interstate 5. Much of the soil found on the slopes of Roxy Ann is dense, sticky clay, a problem that has plagued construction workers since the 1970s. cite web
title = Foundation against sliding
url = http://archive.mailtribune.com/archive/2003/1206/local/stories/04local.htm
date = 2003-12-06
accessdate = 2008-04-02
last = Mann
first = Damian
publisher = Mail Tribune ] A controversial bill passed in 2003, House Bill 3375, required that new construction on slopes of 20% or greater with unstable soil undergo increased regulation and an extended approval process. The bill had the potential to limit new development in over a third of Jackson County, with almost all of Roxy Ann peak included. The potential cost of new foundations doubled to almost $30,000, with the cost of retrofitting an existing structure approaching $100,000.

Geography

Black oak and madrone trees are the most common vegetation in the oak savanna on the lower slopes. cite web
title = Shade Trees vs Power Lines
url = http://archive.mailtribune.com/archive/2001/november/110301n6.htm
date = 2001-11-14|accessdate = 2008-04-02
last = Martin
first = Melissa
publisher = Mail Tribune] Towards the summit there are more conifers, such as douglas fir, ponderosa pine, and incense cedar. cite web
title = Under bright skies or lost in fog, Prescott Park enchants
url = http://www.rvlive.com/Page.asp?NavID=655
date = 2002-02-28
accessdate = 2008-04-02
last = Kettler
first = Bill
publisher = Mail Tribune] Accessing Roxy Ann Peak is done via Roxy Ann Road, which climbs about halfway up the mountain. There are two park gates, a lower one near the residential area on the lower slopes, and an upper one part-way to the summit. From then on, there is a convert|1.5|mi|km|1 walking trail up to the top of the mountain, splitting into a loop just inside Prescott Park. Residential and commerial development of the area is on the rise. cite news
url = http://archive.mailtribune.com/archive/2007/0131/local/stories/no-resort-dm.htm
title = Resort plan puts county, state at odds
last = Mann
first = Damian
publisher = Mail Tribune
date = 2007-01-31
accessdate = 2008-04-02] Just south of Roxy Ann Peak are housing developments, and a portion of the southwest corner of Prescott Park is slated for development. cite web
url = http://www.ci.medford.or.us/Page.asp?NavID=874
title = Candidate future growth areas
publisher = City of Medford]
accessdate = 2008-04-02 ] In 2006, Jackson County commissioners announced a plan to unprotect almost convert|2.19|sqmi|km2|2 of the southeast slopes of the mountain for development of a resort, a move which the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife opposes. The foothills of Roxy Ann Peak are also home to the Roxy Ann Winery, a Rogue Valley AVA winery which was founded in 2002 and located on the southwest slopes. [ cite web
url = http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/LIFE07/70416012
publisher = Mail Tribune
title = Roxy Ann Winery
date = 2008-02-29
accessdate = 2008-04-02 ] On the opposite side of the mountain is the first bioreactor landfill in Southern Oregon, the Dry Creek Landfill, which began a program in 2006 to generate power from collected methane. [ cite web
url = http://archive.mailtribune.com/archive/2006/0921/local/stories/drycreek-landfill.htm
publisher = Mail Tribune
title = Power Garbage
last = Darling
first = John
date = 2008-02-29
accessdate = 2008-04-02 ]

References