Portal:Oregon/Selected article/55

Roxy Ann Peak is a 3,576-foot-tall (1,090 m) mountain in the Western Cascade Range at the eastern edge of Medford, Oregon. Composed of several geologic layers, the majority of the peak is of volcanic origin and dates to the early Oligocene. It is primarily covered by oak savanna and open grassland on its lower slopes, and mixed coniferous forest on its upper slopes and summit. Despite the peak's relatively small topographic prominence of 753 feet (230 m), it rises 2,200 feet (670 m) above Medford and is visible from most of the Rogue Valley. The mountain is Medford's most important viewshed, open space reserve, and recreational resource, and is protected by the 1,740-acre (704 ha) Prescott Park. Roxy Ann Peak was originally settled 8,000 to 10,000 years ago by ancestors of the Latgawa Native American tribe. A sudden influx of non-indigenous settlers arrived in the early 1850s, and most of the Native Americans were forced away from the region onto Indian reservations after the resulting Rogue River Wars. The peak was named in the late 1850s after one of its early residents, Roxy Ann Bowen. In 1883, the city of Medford was established to the west of the mountain, and became incorporated two years later. After acquiring a large amount of land from the Lions Club and the federal government between 1930 and 1933, the city created Prescott Park in 1937. The park protects much of the upper slopes and summit of the peak and remains largely undeveloped. However, the peak's southern foothills are home to a number of quickly expanding single-family residential subdivisions.