Butte, << byoot, >> is a steep-sided hill or small mountain that stands alone, rising sharply above the surrounding countryside. The word butte is a French word meaning mound. Buttes are chiefly found in the dry, Western part of the United States. In most cases, they are capped by horizontal layers of hard rock that protect underlying beds of less resistant rock from erosion. Buttes resemble flat-topped plateaus called mesas in the way they form (see Mesa ). But they are smaller than mesas and have more uniform dimensions.
