In geomorphology, a butte is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word butte comes from the French word butte, meaning knoll ; its use is prevalent in the Western United States, including the southwest where mesa is used for the larger landform. Due to their distinctive shapes, buttes are frequently landmarks in plains and mountainous areas. To differentiate the two landforms, geographers use the rule of thumb that a mesa has a top that is wider than its height, while a butte has a top that is narrower than its height.
Monument Valley is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of sandstone buttes, with the largest reaching 1,000 ft (300 m) above the valley floor. The most famous butte formations are located in northeastern Arizona along the Utah–Arizona state line. The valley is considered sacred by the Navajo Nation, the Native American people within whose reservation it lies.
The West and East Mitten Buttes are two buttes in the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park in northeast Navajo County, Arizona. When viewed from the south, the buttes appear to be two giant mittens with their thumbs facing inwards.
Owl Rock is a 6,547-foot elevation sandstone summit located south of Monument Valley, in northeast Arizona. It is situated 7 miles (11 km) north of Kayenta on Navajo Nation land, and can be seen from Highway 163 perched on the east edge of Tyende Mesa, where it towers 1,000 feet above the surrounding terrain. Its nearest higher neighbor is Agathla Peak, 1.4 miles (2.3 km) to the east-northeast, on the opposite side of this highway. Precipitation runoff from this feature drains into El Capitan Wash, which is part of the San Juan River drainage basin. The first ascent of Owl Rock was made in April 1966 by Fred Beckey and Harvey Carter by climbing cracks on the west face, and then bolting up a smooth south nose to the summit. They employed 20 pitons and 14 bolts on this route called Warpath. The descriptive name stems from its uncanny resemblance to an owl when viewed from the east. This feature is known as Bee 'Adizí in Navajo language meaning "spindle", and this sacred place is considered to be a spindle left behind by the Holy People. A newer name for it is Tsé Ts'óózí, meaning "Slim Rock".
Gregory Butte is a 4,651-foot elevation sandstone summit located in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, in San Juan County of southern Utah. It is situated 7.3 miles (11.7 km) northeast of Tower Butte, and 16 miles (26 km) northeast of the town of Page. This iconic landmark of the Lake Powell area towers nearly 1,000 feet above the lake. Before Lake Powell was formed in the 1970s, this butte was set within a meander of the Colorado River. Gregory Butte is a butte composed of Entrada Sandstone. This sandstone, which was originally deposited as sandy mud on a tidal flat, is believed to have formed about 160 million years ago during the Jurassic period as a giant sand sea, the largest in Earth's history. This geographical feature's name was officially adopted in 1977 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. Geologist Herbert E. Gregory (1869–1952), mapped much of the bedrock geology of the Colorado Plateau, particularly in geologic monographs concentrating on what is now Navajo Nation land in northern Arizona and southern Utah where this butte is located. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Gregory Butte is located in an arid climate zone with hot, very dry summers, and chilly winters with very little snow.
Boundary Butte is a 4,934-foot elevation sandstone summit located south of Lake Powell, in extreme southwestern San Juan County, Utah, United States, just north of the Arizona border. It is situated on Navajo Nation land, 11.5 miles (18.5 km) northeast of the town of Page, and towers 1,200 feet above the lake as a landmark of the area. It lies on the Utah-Arizona border, hence its name.
Chaistla Butte is a 6,098-foot (1,859 m) elevation summit located south of Monument Valley, in Navajo County of northeast Arizona. It is situated 4.5 miles (7.2 km) northeast of the community of Kayenta, on Navajo Nation land, and can be seen from Highway 163. It is one of the eroded volcanic plugs, or diatremes, of the Navajo Volcanic Field, which is a volcanic field that includes intrusions and flows of minette and other unusual igneous rocks which formed around 30 million years ago during the Oligocene. Chaistla Butte rises 400 feet above the Little Capitan Valley, and the 1,000 by 700-foot base pokes up from the Chinle Formation. Its neighbors include Agathla Peak and Owl Rock, three miles (4.8 km) to the north-northwest. Precipitation runoff from this feature drains into the Laguña Creek drainage basin. The chaistla name, which means "beaver pocket" or "beaver corner" in the Navajo language, was officially adopted in 1915 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. Navajo teachings have its name meaning "to support the sky's underside", such that if this butte were to fall, the world would end. It is also known as Turkey Butte.
Chimney Rock is a 6,110-foot (1,860 meter) elevation pillar located within the Ute Mountain Tribal Park, in Montezuma County of southwest Colorado. This landmark is situated one mile southeast of the junction of U.S. Route 491 and US 160, and towers 900 feet above the floor of the Mancos River Valley. This geographical feature is also known as Jackson Butte, named for William Henry Jackson (1843–1942), photographer and explorer famous for his images of the American West who visited this area during the Hayden Survey. He was the first to photograph the cliff dwellings in this Mesa Verde region of the Four Corners area.
Square Butte is a 7,140-foot-elevation (2,180 m) sandstone summit located on Navajo Nation land, in Coconino County of northern Arizona. It is situated 35 miles southeast of the town of Page, and nine miles (14 km) east of Kaibito, where it towers over 700 feet (210 m) above the surrounding terrain as a landmark alongside Arizona State Route 98. Square Butte is known as Tsé Dikʼání in Navajo language, meaning "square rock." Its nearest higher neighbor is White Mesa, two miles (3.2 km) to the south. Precipitation runoff from Square Butte drains to northwest into Square Butte Wash or northeast into Potato Canyon, then ultimately Lake Powell, all part of the Colorado River drainage basin. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Square Butte is located in an arid climate zone with hot, very dry summers, and chilly winters. Spring and fall are the most favorable seasons to visit. The top of Square Butte is composed of Entrada Sandstone including the Cow Springs Member, and it overlays Carmel Formation, all of which was deposited in the Jurassic period.
Sentinel Mesa is a 6,450-foot-elevation (1,966-meter) summit in San Juan County, Utah, United States. It is situated 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of the Monument Valley visitor center on Navajo Nation land and can be seen from Highway 163. The mesa is immediately northwest of the iconic West and East Mitten Buttes. The nearest higher neighbor is Brighams Tomb, 2.64 miles (4.25 km) to the north-northeast. Precipitation runoff from this mesa's west slope drains to Mitchell Butte Wash, whereas the east slope drains to West Gypsum Creek, which are both part of the San Juan River drainage basin. The "Sentinel" name refers to how the mesa oversees Monument Valley which the Navajo consider as one of the "door posts" to Monument Valley. The landform's toponym has been officially adopted by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.
Eagle Mesa is a 6,624-foot-elevation (2,019-meter) summit in San Juan County, Utah, United States.
Brighams Tomb is a 6,739-foot-elevation (2,054-meter) summit in San Juan County, Utah, United States.
Mitchell Mesa is a 6,586-foot-elevation (2,007-meter) summit in Navajo County, Arizona, United States.
Spearhead Mesa is a 5,998-foot-elevation (1,828-meter) summit in Navajo County, Arizona, United States.
Rain God Mesa is a 5,921-foot-elevation (1,805-meter) summit in Navajo County, Arizona, United States.
Elephant Butte is a 5,981-foot-elevation (1,823-meter) summit in Navajo County, Arizona, United States.
Cly Butte is a 5,820-foot-elevation (1,774-meter) summit in Navajo County, Arizona, United States.
Setting Hen is a 6,293-foot-elevation (1,918-meter) summit in San Juan County, Utah, United States.
Mitchell Butte is a 6,383-foot-elevation (1,946-meter) summit in Navajo County, Arizona, United States.
Gray Whiskers is a 6,385-foot-elevation (1,946-meter) summit in Navajo County, Arizona, United States.
