The U.S. National Geodetic Survey report describes Black Butte as a very prominent mountain; it is an imposing feature and landmark in the Deschutes Valley because of its dark color and symmetry. Part of the Cascade volcanic arc in the northwestern United States, it lies within a rain shadow about to the east of the major mountain range. In the High Cascades, the equilibrium line altitudes for valley glaciers follow a gradient of about , which is significantly steeper than the gradient for the Western Cascades. Moving east, precipitation decreases across the Cascade arc; the gradient is even steeper east of the major crest at Black Butte, where the gradient is more than . W. E. Scott argues that the volcano displays no evidence of glaciation.