Small, isolated, flat-topped hill resulting from the erosion of near-horizontal strata. The diameter of the cap rock is less than the height of the land-form above the surrounding country. Buttes are commonly found in semi-arid regions dominated by duricrust horizons. See alsomesa.
Butte
Geography
A small, flat-topped, unvegetated, and very steep-sided hill of layered strata. It may be a volcanic neck or a cone that has resisted erosion, or the residue of a mesa.