Rattlesnake Butte
McCamey, Upton County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Rattlesnake Butte was named for wildlife seen here in 1919 by students and professors of the University of Texas Bureau of Economic Geology, who were working to map county resources. A meandering formation, approximately 2,600 feet in elevation, the butte and other nearby formations are part of the Central Basin Platform, which is represented by remnants of thick layers of Lower Cretaceous sedimentary rock that formerly extended across the entire county. The sections of limestone that have resisted erosion form the tops of Upton County's buttes, hills, and mesas. The geologic formations represent the area's ideal formations for the production of oil and gas. (1967, 2010)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Rattlesnake Butte earned its name from the wildlife spotted here in 1919 by students and professors of the University of Texas Bureau of Economic Geology, who were mapping the county's resources. Rising about 2,600 feet, the butte belongs to the Central Basin Platform, its cap of erosion-resistant Lower Cretaceous limestone protecting the hills and mesas around it. Those same geologic formations proved ideal for the oil and gas production that would transform the region's economy.
Why it matters
It marks the scientific survey work that read the West Texas rock and helped unlock the Permian Basin oil boom that reshaped the state.
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Related events
- · University of Texas Bureau of Economic Geology survey
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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