Mt. Tabor Park Monday, February 05, 2007

With a peak elevation of about 640 feet, Mt. Tabor rises some 400 feet above the surrounding terrain in SE Portland. The 196-acre spread was established as a park in 1909. Its miles of trails and paved roads, which lead right to the top, make it a popular destination for cyclists, joggers, and dog walkers. From the top, the mountain offers fantastic views of downtown Portland to the west, and Mt. Hood to the east.

The mountain is actually an extinct cinder cone, making Portland one of two cities in the continental U.S. known to have a volcano within their boundaries. (The other is Bend, Ore.) Geologists say that Mt. Tabor has been inactive for several hundred thousand years.

The west side of Mt. Tabor includes a major water reservoir for the city of Portland. Since the events of Sept. 11, 2001, the ease of access to the water has caused concern that it could be contaminated by terrorists. Apart from fencing, security cameras and perhaps patrols, though, access remains unencumbered. Nevertheless, there have not been any problems to date.