Page:Oregon Geographic Names, third edition.djvu/149



exploring expedition of Captain Fremont, which left Kansas in May, 1843, its leader conducted the party through the Deschutes Valley, and after naming a number of geographic features, he arrived in the Warner Valley and on December 24, 1843, he reached and named Christmas Lake. This lake is much further southeast than the lake now known by that name, and there is but little doubt that it was what is now known as Hart Lake that Fremont christened. It is an important member of the Warner Lakes group, and near the central part of the valley. There is at present no information as to how the other Christmas Lake got its name, but it is some distance from Fremont's route, and there is no evidence that he ever knew of its existence. The surveyor general of Oregon issued a map of the state in 1863 which shows Christmas Lake in the Warner Valley in the place where Fremont discovered and named it. It has been called Hart Lake for many years.

CHRISTY CREEK, Lane County. This is the largest tributary of North Fork Willamette River. It was named for one "Doc" Christy, a veterinarian of Eugene, who located a mining claim near its mouth in early days.

CHROME RIDGE, Grant County. Chrome Ridge is south of John Day River and just west of Fields Creek. It is one of several geographic features in Oregon named for the mineral chromite. In July, 1945, Dr. F. W. Libbey, director of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, wrote the compiler as follows: "The word chrome is used rather loosely to mean chrome ore or chromite. Chromite is found in lenticular deposits at various places in southwestern Oregon and central Oregon, especially in Grant, Josephine and Curry counties. Thus there is the connection between chromite deposits and the word chrome which has been applied to some geographic features in Oregon. Chromite or chrome ore is usually considered to be a chemical mixture of ferrous oxide and chromic oxide. However, it never occurs in nature as this theoretical compound because it always contains impurities such as silica, alumina and magnesia. The chromite ore in Grant County is, generally speaking, lower grade than the chromite ore of southwestern Oregon. The Grant County ore averages a lower percentage of chromic oxide." Chromite was not searched for in pioneer days and the use of the name for Oregon geographic features is relatively modern.

CHUCKSNEY MOUNTAIN, Lane County. This mountain, elevation 5756 feet, is about 12 miles north of Waldo Lake. It bears the name of a local Indian celebrity who made his home in the valley of Middle Fork Willamette River.

CINNAMON BUTTE, Douglas County. This butte is about five miles north of Diamond Lake, and has an elevation of 6400 feet. It was named by O. C. Houser of the Forest Service in 1908 because of the characteristic color of the brush and rock formation near its summit. The USBGN has adopted this name.

CIPOLE, Washington County. The name of this station on the Southern Pacific line west of Tualatin is pronounced si-pole. Cipole is near the large onion raising lands of the county and the name represents an imperfect representation of the Italian word for onion, cipolla, pronounced chi-po-la.

CIRCLE BAR, Harney County. This railroad station was named for the Circle Bar Ranch which used that brand. It is about nine miles southeast of Crane.