What is an example of a butte?

What Is a Butte, Anyway? And Where Can You Spot One?

Out in the wide-open spaces of the American West, and other dry places around the world, you’ll often see these amazing landforms sticking up from the ground: buttes. But what are they, really? And if you wanted to go see a really great example, where would you go?

Basically, a butte is like a hill that’s been left all alone, with steep sides going straight up and a small, flat top. The word itself comes from French, where it just means “small hill.” The way they’re made is pretty cool: imagine a hard layer of rock on top of softer stuff. Over time, the wind and rain wash away the soft stuff, but that hard top layer protects the rock underneath it. Eventually, you end up with this isolated tower – a butte.

Now, people often mix up buttes with mesas. They’re similar, but mesas are bigger and wider than they are tall. Buttes? They’re the opposite – taller than they are wide. Think of it like this: a mesa is a tabletop mountain, while a butte is more like a natural skyscraper.

Monument Valley’s Mitten Buttes: Picture-Perfect

If you want to see a classic butte, you’ve gotta go to Monument Valley, right on the border of Utah and Arizona. That’s where you’ll find the Mitten Buttes. Seriously, these things are incredible. They look just like giant mittens sticking up out of the desert. That’s why they call ’em the Mittens! They’re probably the most famous buttes in the world.

I remember the first time I saw them in person. I’d seen pictures, of course, but nothing prepares you for the real thing. The way the red rock glows in the sun… it’s just breathtaking. No wonder they’ve been in tons of movies, especially those old Westerns. John Ford loved filming there.

The Mitten Buttes are perfect examples of what a butte should be: standing alone, steep sides, and a flat-ish top. And that red sandstone? It just pops against the desert.

Buttes Beyond the Mittens

Of course, the Mitten Buttes aren’t the only buttes out there. You can find them all over.

• Devils Tower, Wyoming: This one’s different because it’s made of volcanic rock. It’s a real sight to behold.
• Courthouse Butte, Arizona: Near Sedona, this is another one of those amazing red rock formations.
• Bear Butte, South Dakota: This place is sacred to a lot of Native American tribes. They call it “Bear Mountain.”
• Elephant Butte, New Mexico: Now it’s an island in a lake, but it used to look like an elephant.

Now, sometimes people call any old hill a “butte,” even if it doesn’t really fit the definition. Like Scotts Bluff in Nebraska, or Crested Butte in Colorado. Those are cool places, but they’re not technically buttes.

So, there you have it. A butte is a cool landform, carved by erosion, with steep sides and a flat top. The Mitten Buttes in Monument Valley are the poster children, showing off the awesome power of nature. So, next time you’re driving through the desert, keep an eye out. You never know when you might spot one of these amazing formations!