Button Mountain, Nacogdoches TX COHP, LiDAR info
Andy Martin, 7/7/2022

TLDR: Lidar turns up a new area that is about 1 meter
higher than the 2 areas mapped on the 1973 quad.
However this new area may be manmade.

Details:
All files are uploaded to http://www.cohp.org/lidar/tx/Nacogdoches/
A good overview is
	Button 7.5' quad, 1973.jpg

The three LiDAR high points are shown by red dots.
The blue dot is high ground given by Ben Lostracco in
  https://peakbagger.com/climber/ascent.aspx?aid=226161
The large brown mapped 720' contour is darkened to black
to make it more visible in the strip mine. 

The LiDAR points are shown with 1 meter contours on 
	Button NW.jpg
	Button Central.jpg
	Button SE.jpg

and are summarized as follows:

	LiDAR info from apps.nationalmap.gov/3depdem
	Button Mountain - 3 areas
	NW     - 94.85438  W 31.83737 N 720'
	Center - 94.84947  W 31.83404 N 725'
	SE     - 94.84687  W 31.82927 N 721'

My initial impression was that LiDAR had settled the
issue - as long as the center area was natural. The
1973 quad does not show the strip mine extending 
to the center area.

However I found a Google Earth satellite image that
shows disturbance at the center area.
	Button 1985 satellite pic.jpg

Also spent some time trying to figure out what
was being mined. Think it was iron ore
"in strata forming the caprocks"

  https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/iron-ore-deposits

  In East Texas both siderite (iron carbonate) and limonite
  (iron oxide) exist in large quantities, primarily in Anderson,
  Cass, Cherokee, Harrison, Henderson, Houston, Leon, Marion,
  Morris, Nacogdoches, Smith, Upshur, Van Zandt, and Wood counties,
  where the ore deposits occur usually in strata forming the
  caprocks of low mountain ranges. 

More info is needed on the mine, but it is possible that 
most of the caprock was mined, and the center area is
some sort of spoil pile.

Finally we have the 15' map from 1945. Looks like
the mine started after this map was made:
 
	Button 15 min quad 1945.jpg

Suppose if I ever visit this one I'd want to visit the
SE area for sure, check out what is going on at
the center area, and if still unscathed & motivated tag the NW
area ...