A view of Cedar Butte and the Boxley Blowout.

The best view of Cedar Butte and its surroundings is from the Rattlesnake Ledges. The picture I have here is slightly large, so download it [360 KB] or not as you wish. Or print this out and take it with you to the Ledges!

This view is from the first Ledge east towards Mount Washington. Below that is the West Ridge, and below that is Cedar Butte. A gentley descending ridge runs from Cedar Butte to the depression of the Boxley Blowout. In spring this is light-green, as in the picture; in the fall it turns yellow as the alder leaves change color. Below and in front of this ridge is the area selectively logged in 1994, with the lighter colored vegetation showing between the trees. The slightly thicker band of trees at the edge of the logged area marks Boxley Creek.

The Blowout is at the edge of the Cedar Embankment, a broad plain that gentley descends towards the Chester Morse Reservoir (the former Cedar Lake). This is mostly gravel that was washed out from around the glacier into the former canyon of the Cedar River.

In the foreground is part of Rattlesnake Lake. The cleared area is where the Cedar Falls Trailhead has since been built. The prominent dirt road taking off from there is in the watershed (and off-limits); if you follow it carefully you can see where goes under the grade of the former Milwaukee Railway, now the John Wayne Pioneer Trail. This can be traced through the trees to where it crosses Boxley Creek, but beyond that it is not so visible. (See the map.) One corner of Christmas Lake is seen in the picture.

The Masonry Dam is somewhat to the right of this picture. Neither it nor the Masonry Pool (the part of the reservoir between the dam and Cedar Lake) are visible, even from the Ledge, on account of the trees growing higher.

If you are at the Ledges, take a good look all the way to your right: there are more of these flattop delta morraines, similar to Grouse Ridge.