definition for buttes
butte. an isolated hill with steep sides and a flat top, resulting from the more rapid erosion of the surrounding areas. Buttes are characteristic of the plains of the W United States. See mesa mesa[Span.,=table], name given in the SW United States to a small, isolated tableland or a flat-topped hill. Two or more of the sides are steep and usually perpendicular and some have all four sides practically perpendicular...... Click the link for more information. .