They are located in the remote northeast corner of Lake County between Bend and Burns in central Oregon, United States.

The nearest settlement is the small unincorporated community of Hampton, Oregon, located 10 miles (16 km) northwest of the buttes.

[5][7] The buttes are a major landmark, rising well above the surrounding high desert plain with a topographic prominence of approximately 2,000 feet (610 m).

[2][8][9] Glass Buttes were formed approximately 5 to 5.8 million years ago during the late Miocene and Pliocene epochs.

However, on the north and west facing slopes and in some canyon areas there are dispersed western juniper trees and some pine groves with an understory dominated by sagebrush and mountain mahogany.

Larger mammals found in the area include pronghorn, mule deer, elk, coyotes, bobcats, and cougars.

[12][15][18] For thousands of years, Native Americans used obsidian for making cutting tools, arrowheads, and spear points.

[19][20][21][22] Glass Buttes obsidian has been found at sites throughout the Pacific Northwest, from British Columbia in the north to California in the south and as far east as Idaho.

By 1918, homesteads around Glass Buttes were being abandoned due to economic pressures created by federal policies during World War I and the lack of water for livestock.

[25][26] In the 1930s, Percy L. Forbes, a local rancher and self-taught geologist, began surveying the obsidian and mineral deposits in the Glass Buttes area.

His discoveries included an iridescent rainbow-colored variety with bands of blue, green, red, pink, and gold that was unique to the Glass Buttes area.

While the mercury was present in commercially valuable quantities, to cover production costs a relatively high market price was required.

[4][37][38][39] The Glass Buttes area offers a number of recreational opportunities including rock collecting, hiking, camping, hunting, and nature study.

[2][8][24] There is a wide variety of high-quality obsidian found in the area including jet black, brown, green, red fire, pumpkin, mahogany, midnight lace, rainbow, gold sheen, silver sheen, and snowflake as well as several double flow varieties.

There is also some state-owned land and a few private obsidian claims in the Glass Buttes area that are not generally open to the public.

It is normally quite dry in the Glass Buttes areas; however, when it rains the road can quickly become impassable even for four-wheel drive vehicles.

During the summer, it is recommended that visitors check with the Prineville Bureau of Land Management District regarding fire restrictions before traveling to the area.