Mesa (geology) | Article about Mesa (geology) by The Free Dictionary Mesa (geology) | Article about Mesa (geology) by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Dictionary , Thesaurus , Medical , Wikipedia . Mesa (mā`sə), city (1990 pop. 288,091), Maricopa co., S central Ariz., in the irrigated Salt River valley; inc. 1883. Electronic components, fabricated metals, aircraft, and machine tools are among its various manufactures. One of the fastest-growing U.S. cities, Mesa's population has more than doubled since 1980. Tourism is important, and the citrus and farm products of the area are packed and processed in Mesa. The Mormons who founded the city in 1878 used old Native American irrigation canals for farming in the Salt River valley. In Mesa are the Mesa Art Center, a Mormon temple, and the chief agricultural experiment farm of the Univ. of Arizona. The Chicago Cubs baseball team also has a spring training camp there.

mesa (mā`sə) [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. Their bold lines make them a picturesque part of the landscape, and they are frequently deep red or yellow in color. Mesas originate from the erosion erosion , general term for the processes by which the surface of the earth is constantly being worn away. The principal agents are gravity, running water, near-shore waves, ice (mostly glaciers), and wind. ..... Click the link for more information. of plateaus plateau, elevated, level or nearly level portion of the earth's surface, larger in summit area than a mountain and bounded on at least one side by steep slopes, occurring on land or in oceans. ..... Click the link for more information. that were capped by hard rock, usually in arid regions. Cliffs form, retreating as the soft layers beneath the cap rock are eroded. As the soft rock wears away, the upper cliff breaks along cracks and eventually produces a mesa.

A butte 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. ..... Click the link for more information. is the last stage of the sequence, before the feature's complete consumption by erosion. The strata, or layers of rock, in a mesa are horizontal, or nearly so. The many "table mountains" are mesas. Two celebrated mesas are the Mesa Verde in Colorado and the Enchanted Mesa (Mesa Encantada) in New Mexico. Mesa a name given to small tablelands resulting from erosion dissection of vast plateaus that for the most part are capped with layers of basaltic lava. mesa MESAR | Article about MESAR by The Free Dictionary MESAR | Article about MESAR by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Dictionary , Thesaurus , Medical , Legal , Acronyms . Mesa (mā`sə), city (1990 pop. 288,091), Maricopa co., S central Ariz., in the irrigated Salt River valley; inc. 1883.

Electronic components, fabricated metals, aircraft, and machine tools are among its various manufactures. One of the fastest-growing U.S. cities, Mesa's population has more than doubled since 1980. Tourism is important, and the citrus and farm products of the area are packed and processed in Mesa. The Mormons who founded the city in 1878 used old Native American irrigation canals for farming in the Salt River valley. In Mesa are the Mesa Art Center, a Mormon temple, and the chief agricultural experiment farm of the Univ. of Arizona. The Chicago Cubs baseball team also has a spring training camp there. mesa (mā`sə) [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. Their bold lines make them a picturesque part of the landscape, and they are frequently deep red or yellow in color. Mesas originate from the erosion erosion , general term for the processes by which the surface of the earth is constantly being worn away. The principal agents are gravity, running water, near-shore waves, ice (mostly glaciers), and wind. .....

Click the link for more information. of plateaus plateau, elevated, level or nearly level portion of the earth's surface, larger in summit area than a mountain and bounded on at least one side by steep slopes, occurring on land or in oceans. ..... Click the link for more information. that were capped by hard rock, usually in arid regions. Cliffs form, retreating as the soft layers beneath the cap rock are eroded. As the soft rock wears away, the upper cliff breaks along cracks and eventually produces a mesa. A butte 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. ..... Click the link for more information. is the last stage of the sequence, before the feature's complete consumption by erosion. The strata, or layers of rock, in a mesa are horizontal, or nearly so. The many "table mountains" are mesas. Two celebrated mesas are the Mesa Verde in Colorado and the Enchanted Mesa (Mesa Encantada) in New Mexico.

Mesa a name given to small tablelands resulting from erosion dissection of vast plateaus that for the most part are capped with layers of basaltic lava. mesa mesa, in geology Encyclopedia > Earth and the Environment > Geology and Oceanography > Geology and Oceanography mesa mesa (māˈsə) [ key ] [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. Their bold lines make them a picturesque part of the landscape, and they are frequently deep red or yellow in color. Mesas originate from the erosion of plateaus that were capped by hard rock, usually in arid regions. Cliffs form, retreating as the soft layers beneath the cap rock are eroded. As the soft rock wears away, the upper cliff breaks along cracks and eventually produces a mesa. A butte is the last stage of the sequence, before the feature's complete consumption by erosion. The strata, or layers of rock, in a mesa are horizontal, or nearly so. The many "table mountains" are mesas.

Two celebrated mesas are the Mesa Verde in Colorado and the Enchanted Mesa (Mesa Encantada) in New Mexico. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. What does Butte mean? Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition: Butte(noun) a detached low mountain, or high rising abruptly from the general level of the surrounding plain; -- applied to peculiar elevations in the Rocky Mountain region Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition: Butte A butte is a conspicuous isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller than mesas, plateaus, and table landforms. In some regions, such as the north central and northwestern United States, the word is used for any hill. The word butte comes from a French word meaning "small hill"; its use is prevalent in the western United States, including the southwest, where "mesa" is also used. Because of their distinctive shapes, buttes are frequently landmarks in plains and mountainous areas.

In differentiating mesas and buttes, geographers use the rule that a mesa has a top wider than its height, while a butte's top is narrower. Three classic buttes are Scotts Bluff in Nebraska, Crested Butte in Colorado, and Elephant Butte in New Mexico. Among the well-known non-flat-topped buttes in the United States are Bear Butte, South Dakota, and Black Butte, Oregon. In many cases, buttes have been given other names that do not use the word butte, for example, Courthouse Rock, Nebraska. Also, some large hills that are technically not buttes have names using butte, an example of which is Kamiak Butte in Washington State. Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition: Butte būt, but, n. any conspicuous and isolated hill or peak, esp. in the Rocky Mountain region. [Fr.] Numerology The numerical value of Butte in Chaldean Numerology is: 3 Pythagorean Numerology Nature Definitions I love nature. I'm also anal-retentive. Did you ever wonder...

what's the difference between a stream, a brook, and a river? Well if you have a life, probably not. I luckily, do not. In fact, I have so little of a life, I've even come up with all the definitions of all those different nature terms. Waterways Waterway - Any narrow pathway of water that is constantly moving. Seaway - A salt-water waterway. Brook - A very small natural waterway, smaller than a stream. Stream - A small natural waterway, larger than a brook, but smaller than a creek. Creek - A medium natural waterway, larger than a stream. Often a tributary to a river. River - A natural stream of water of considerable volume. Larger than all other waterways. Canal - An artificial waterway, used for navigation, draining, or irrigating land. Wash - a shallow creek or the dry bed of a waterway. Branch - A waterway that flows into another, usually larger, waterway. Tributary - A waterway (larger than a branch) that flows into another, usually larger, waterway. Distributary - A waterway branch flowing away from the main stream of the waterway.

Anabranch - A diverging branch of a waterway which re-enters the main stream. Sections of Waterways Bed - The bottom of a waterway. Head - The source of a waterway. Usually a marsh area with springs. Mouth - The place where a waterway enters another waterway. Fork - A place where a waterway branches into two or more new waterways. Delta - An alluvial deposit, usually at the mouth of a waterway, often in the shape of the Greek letter "delta" because of multiple forks. They are formed where a water way drops any debris it was carrying on a body of quieter water. Rapids - A section of a waterway where the current is fast and the surface is broken by obstructions, usually rocks. Riffles - A shallow, turbulent portion of a waterway. Rift - A very shallow section of a waterway. Falls - A steep descent in a waterway, usually caused by large rocks, where the water drops rapidly. Dike - A man made bank usually of earth constructed to control or confine water. Bank - The sides of a river. Banks are called right or left as viewed facing in the direction of the flow.

Basin - A land area having a common outlet for its surface water runoff. Estuary - Where the mouth of a fresh waterway empties into a body of salt water. Lock - A man made chamber a waterway closed off using gates in order to raise or lower the water level so ships can move from one elevation to another along the waterway. Bodies of Water Pool - A small and often deep body of usually fresh water. Lagoon - A shallow sound channel or pond near or communicating with a larger body of water. Well - An issue of water from the earth. Often man made. Spring - A source of water issuing from the ground. Usually creating a waterway, or body of water. Pond - A body of water smaller than a lake, but much larger than a puddle. Usually spring fed. Lake - A considerable inland body of standing water. Larger than a pond. Sea - A great body of salt water of second rank more or less landlocked. Ocean - The largest body of salt water. There are only 4 on Earth. Ford - A shallow part of a body of water that can be crossed through by wading.

Inlets Bay - An inlet of the sea or other body of water usually smaller than a gulf. Sound - A long, relatively wide body of water, larger than a channel, connecting larger bodies of water. Channel - A narrow body of water between two portions of lands. Cove - A small sheltered inlet or bay. Gulf - A part of the ocean or sea extending into the land. Harbor - A part of a body of water protected and deep enough to furnish anchorage especially one with port facilities. Haven - A harbor or port. Port - A place where ships may ride secure from storms. Usually a harbor town or city where ships may take on or discharge cargo. Fjord - A narrow inlet of sea between cliffs or steep slopes. Bight - A bend in a coast forming an open bay. Islands Reef - A series of rocks or ridge of sand or coral, at or near the surface of the water. Island - A tract of land totally surrounded by water and smaller than a continent. Key - A low island or reef. Shores Bank - A mound pile or ridge raised above the surrounding level. Shore - The land bordering a usually large body of water.

Beach - A shore of an ocean sea or lake or the bank of a river covered by sand or gravel or larger rock fragments. Coast - The land near a shore. Sands - A tract of sand a sandbak or sandbar. Shoal - A sandbank or sandbar that makes the water shallow. Spit - A small point of land especially of sand or gravel running into a body of water. Peninsulas Peninsula - A portion of land nearly surrounded by water and connected with a larger body of water usually by an isthmus. Cape - A point or extension of land jutting out into water as a penninsula or as a projecting point. Point - A projecting usually tapered piece of land or sharp prominence. Horn - A body of land or water shaped like a horn. Straights Neck - A narrow stretch of land. Strait - A comparitively narrow passageway connecting two large bodies of water. Swamps Bayou - Any of various usually marshy or sluggish bodies of water. Swamp - Wet spongy land saturated and sometimes partially or intermittently covered with water. Bog - An area of soft, naturally waterlogged ground.

Marsh - A tract of soft land usually characterized by grasses and cattails. Moor - A boggy area of wasteland usually peaty and dominated by grasses and sedges. Grasslands Veldt - A grassland usually with scattered shrubs or trees. Plain - An extensive area of rolling or level treeless country. Grasslands - Land on which the natural dominant plant forms are grasses and forbs. Meadow - A tract of low-lying usually level grassland. Field - An open area free of woods or buildings. Flats - A level surface of land. Mountains Butte - An isolated hill or mountain with steep or percipitous sides usually having a smaller summit area than a mesa. Bluff - A high steep bank. Cliff - A very steep vertical slope or overhanging face of rock or ice. Crag - A steep rugged rock or cliff. Hill - A usually rounded natural elevation of land lower than a mountain. Hillside - The part of a hill between the summit and the foot. Knob - A rounded usually isolated hill or mountain. Mesa - An isolated relatively flat-topped natural elevation usually more extensive than a butte and less extensive than a plateau.

Mountain - A landmass that projects conspicuously above its surroundings and is higher than a hill. Outcrop - The part of a rock formation that appears at the surface of the ground. Peak - The top of a hill or mountain ending in a point. Ridge - A range of hills or mountains. Rock - A large mass of stone forming a cliff promontory or peak. Bridge - A structure carrying a pathway or roadway over a depression or obstacle. Glacier - A large body of ice moving slowly down a slope or valley or spreading outward on a land surface. Valleys Canyon - A deep narrow valley with steep sides and often with a stream flowing through it. Basin - A large or small depression in the surface of the land or in the ocean floor. Crater - A bowl-shaped depression around the orifice of a volcano or produced by the impact of a meteorite or an explosion. Dale - A small valley or vale. Ditch - A long narrow excavation dug in the earth. Hole - A cave pit or well in the ground. Valley - An elongate depression of the earth's surface usually between ranges of hills or mauntains. Fumarole - A hole in a volcanic region from which hot gases and vapors issue.

Gap - A mountain pass. Glen - A secluded narrow valley. Gorge - A narrow passge through land especially a narrow steep-walled canyon or part of a canyon. Hollow - A small valley or basin. Pass - A low place in a mountain range. Rift Valley - An elongated valley formed by the depression of a block of the earth's crust between two faults or groups of faults of approximately parallel strike. Caves Cave - A natural underground chamber or series of chambers open to the surface. Cavern - A cave of large or indefinite extent. Forests Forest - A dense grove of trees and underbrush covering a large tract. Grove - A small wood without underbrush. Wood - A dense grove of trees usually greater in extent than a grove and smaller than a forest. Wilderness - A tract or region uncultivated and uninhabited by human beings. Thicket - A dense growth of shrubbery or small trees. Badlands Waste - A sparsely settled or barren region. Desert - An arrid barren land. Links Butteciviccenter.com - Butte Civic Center | Butte, Montana Watch re­cor­ded covera­ge of Dr.

Pe­ter Sori­nis fune­ral /live-feed Information about Butteciviccenter.com on Wikipedia the free encyclopedia: A butte is a conspicuous isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; it is smaller than mesas, plateaus, and table landforms. read more Links to this website and profiles in social networks Profiles and accounts in social networks two profiles were found for Butteciviccenter.com in social networks. Among other social networks the website is represented in Facebook and Twitter. Social network Meaning of MESA mesa Mesa Verde National Park. View looking down a V-shaped erosional canyon between mesa. Sandstone forms the canyon rim and the cap rock of the mesa. Credit: USGS A flat-topped, steep-sided, table-like mountain (mesa is Spanish for 'table') capped with a formation or stratum, which is relatively hor... mesa mesa (mā'su) [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. Their bold lines make them a picturesque part of the la...

Mesa Mesa (mā'su) , city (1990 pop. 288,091), Maricopa co., S central Ariz., in the irrigated Salt River valley; inc. 1883. Electronic components, fabricated metals, aircraft, and machine tools are among its various manufactures. One of the fastest-growing U.S. cities, Mesa's population has mor... Mesa A mesa (Portuguese and Spanish for table) is the American English term for tableland, an elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs. It takes its name from its characteristic table-top shape. It may also be called a table hill, table-topped hill or table mountain. It is larger than a butte, which it otherwise res... Mesa [programming language] Mesa was an innovative programming language developed in the late 1970s at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center in Palo Alto, California, United States. The language name was a pun based upon the programming language catchphrases of the time, because Mesa is a `high level` programming language. Mesa is an ALGOL-like la...

Mesa and Butte - The shape of the land, Forces and changes, Spotlight on famous forms, For More Information Mesa and Butte Mesa and butte Photo by: dpa Spanish explorers in the mid-sixteenth century ranged over the American Southwest. They had come north from Mexico, looking for gold and gems and the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola (pronounced SEE-bow-lah), allegedly filled with such treasures. In their quest, they found neither gold nor riches. They did, however, become the first Europeans to view the geological wonders of the area, and they were amazed at what they saw. Among the canyons, plateaus, and rock towers and arches, the explorers saw landforms that appeared plateaulike, only smaller and isolated. They called these geologic features mesas (pronounced MAY-suz), which means table in Spanish, because the explorers thought the landforms resembled tables with their smooth, flat tops and sides that drop away steeply. Populating the spare, arid (dry) landscape of the area along with mesas were still smaller landforms that had a similar appearance.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the word butte (pronounced BYOOT) was coined from the French word meaning mound or hillock to describe these solitary landforms. The shape of the land A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped hill or mountain with steep sides that is smaller in area than a plateau. A butte is also a flat-topped hill with steep sides, though smaller in area than a mesa. Definitions of the surface areas of mesas and buttes vary. One source states that a mesa has a surface area of less than 4 square miles (10 square kilometers), while a butte has a surface area less than 11,250 square feet (1,000 square meters). Another source states that the surface area of a mesa is larger than 1 square mile (2.59 square kilometers); the surface area of a butte is smaller than that dimension. Some simply define a mesa as a Junction Butte in Canyon-lands National Park, Utah. Part of the Colorado Plateau, the landscape of sedimentary sandstone in this area was eroded into countless canyons, mesas, and buttes by the Colorado River and its tributaries .

PHOTOGRAPH REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION OF THE CORBIS CORPORATION . landform that is wider than it is high and a butte as one that is higher than it is wide. A mesa's and butte's characteristic shape—flat top and clifflike sides—is due to the layers of rock forming them. These landforms are most often composed of sedimentary rock, formed by the accumulation and compression of sediment (which may consist of rock fragments, remains of microscopic organisms, and minerals). This type of rock covers more than 75 percent of Earth's land surface. Most sedimentary rocks occur in layers, called strata, that are mostly horizontal or flat when first formed. Forces within Earth that rupture the surface to form volcanoes, mountains, plateaus, and many other topographical features (physical features on the planet's surface), may later cause these layers to tip, fold, warp, or fracture. The top layer of a mesa and a butte is a hardened layer of rock that is resistant to erosion, which is the gradual wearing away of Earth surfaces through the action of wind and water.

Sometimes this top layer, called the cap rock, is not sedimentary rock but is cooled and hardened lava that had spread out across the landscape in repeated flows from fissures or cracks in the ground. Beneath this flat protective cap of rock are horizontal layers of softer sedimentary rock. To varying degrees, these layers are not as resistant to erosion. These landforms are found in arid and semiarid regions. Arid regions are defined as those that receive less than 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain per year; semiarid regions receive 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 centimeters) of rain per year. Precipitation in these regions often comes in the form of sudden, heavy rainfalls. Because water evaporates quickly in these normally dry environments, plants and other ground cover are scarce. Left exposed to the action of running water, the bare sides of the softer rock layers of mesas and buttes are eroded away over time. The base of these landforms is often gently sloped, contrasting with the almost-vertical sides leading down from the top. Rock material that has been eroded from the sides is carried downward, forming this sloping base.

Mesa and butte: Words to Know Canyon: Layers in a series of sedimentary rocks. Forces and changes: Construction and destruction Mesas and buttes do not arise as completed landforms through sudden geological events. They have been shaped over millions of years by the slow, orderly process of erosion. They are part of a series of landforms that naturally erode into other landforms. That series begins with plateaus, which are relatively level, large expanses of land that rise some 1,500 feet (457 meters) or more above their surroundings and have at least one steep side. A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped hill or mountain with steep sides that is smaller in area than a plateau. A butte is also a flat-topped hill with steep sides, though smaller in area than a mesa . Plateaus develop in a few ways, all of which are directly related to the internal heat forces of Earth. These forces stirring beneath the crust (the outermost layer of the planet) are responsible for the physical features on the surface, from mountains to volcanoes to rift valleys and many others. Earth's internal forces have put pressure on the bottom of the crust, causing it to fracture into sections.

As these sections, called plates, move about the surface in response to that pressure, they collide, slide past one another, or slide under each other. The interaction between the plates or the stress created within a plate as it has interacted with other plates have brought about the many landforms defining Earth's surface. The scientific theory explaining the plates and their movements and interactions is known as plate tectonics. (For further information on plateau formation and plate tectonics, see the Plateau chapter.) Like all landforms elevated above their surrounding landscapes, a plateau is prone to erosion. Water, in the form of rain, snow, ice, rivers, runoff, and groundwater, is the primary force of that erosion. Wind also plays a part in this erosion, but to a far less degree. Rivers are the great cutting agents on plateaus. Whether raised with the plateau as it was elevated or formed afterward, a river will flow downward, seeking out the level of the body of water into which it drains. And it will do so as quickly as possible. It will seek out the path of least resistance, finding areas where rock is weak. Wearing away that rock, the river will cut downward deeper and deeper.

Over millions of years, a river will form a valley, then a canyon, separating the plateau into sections. (For more information on canyon formation, see the Canyon chapter.) On plateaus, areas of weak rock occur along faults, which are cracks or fractures in Earth's crust. Faults arise when pressure from underground forces pulls apart or compresses plates, creating stress within the plate. Faults are common in elevated regions. Rocks along a fault tend to be weak and broken, and a river or other flowing water easily cuts through the broken rock. Over time, valleys or canyons form, and a plateau is further dissected. (For more information on fault formation, see the Fault chapter.) Rivers erode by picking up sediments (loose rock fragments) and transporting them to a new location. The speed or velocity at which a river flows determines the size of the material it can carry. A fast-moving river carries more sediment and larger material than a slow-moving one. The sediment acts as an abrasive as it is carried along, scouring and wearing away the banks and bed (sides and bottom) of the river. As new material is eroded, the river picks it up.

In turn, this new sediment helps the river cut even deeper into its channel. From plateaus to mesas to buttes to… Geologically speaking, no landscape is ever "complete." The surface of the planet is in constant motion. As new landforms are built up, others are eroded away. As vast as it may seem, a plateau is relentlessly carved by erosion. The Colorado Plateau in the four corners region of the American Southwest is eroding at a rate of 500 vertical feet every 1 million years. Deep valleys and canyons form steep cliffs that retreat endlessly as water from storm runoff and streams and rivers washes away soft rock. Were it not for sections of resistant rock on the surface of a plateau, the entire landform would wear away over millions of years to a valley floor. Those resistant sections allow a plateau to erode into mesas that rise above the ever-widening valley floor. Mesas maintain their shape because their cap rock offers protection to the layers of softer rock beneath. That protection, however, is short-lived. Again, water from storms washes over the sides of the mesa, wearing them away.

As the sides retreat inward, the overhanging sections of cap rock weaken, fracture, and fall. As the process of erosion continues, a mesa shrinks in size. Over time, it becomes a butte, taller than it is wide. Unrelenting, water erodes the butte as it had the mesa before it and the plateau before that. Capped by its resistant rock but ever shrinking, the butte may eventually erode into a pinnacle. This tall, slender tower or spire of rock will stand until it, too, succumbs to erosion and eventually crumbles to the valley floor. The Face of Mars In July 1976, the planetary probe Viking 1 orbited Mars searching for a potential landing site for a sister probe, Viking 2 . While photographing areas of the Cydonia region of the planet, the probe captured an image of a landform that resembled a face with darkened eyes, a narrow nose, and a frowning mouth. When the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released the image to the public, it caused a sensation. NASA scientists reasoned that sunlight on the landform created the apparent image, but many people thought otherwise. They believed that the face was artificially created.

It was proof, they asserted, that intelligent life existed on Mars. More than twenty years after the Viking 1 probe was released, NASA sent another probe to Mars, the Mars Global Surveyor . In early 2001, after having taken tens of thousands of images of the planet, the Surveyor aimed its strong camera lens on the "Face of Mars." This time, the image clearly showed that the landform was simply another mesa in an area of mesas and buttes, very much like those that exist in the American Southwest. Aerial photograph of a Martian mesa that resembles a human face . PHOTOGRAPH REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION OF THE CORBIS CORPORATION Spotlight on famous forms Enchanted Mesa, New Mexico In west-central New Mexico stands a mesa made of sandstone, a type of rock composed of grains of sand bonded together by a mineral cement, like calcium carbonate. The mesa rises impressively 430 feet (131 meters) above the surrounding valley. Known as Enchanted Mesa, it was called Mesa Encantada by Spanish explorers and Katzimo by the Acoma (pronounced AK-ah-ma), the Native Americans who inhabit the area.

The Acoma live in a pueblo (Native American village) on top of another sandstone mesa located a few miles away from Enchanted Mesa. The pueblo, believed to have been founded in the twelfth century, is the oldest continuously inhabited community in the United States. According to Acoma legend, Enchanted Mesa is the ancestral home of the Acoma people. They lived on top of the mesa. One day, when the Acoma were tending their fields in the surrounding valley, a violent rainstorm arose. The rain washed away the stairway leading to the top of the mesa, leaving the elderly and the very young stranded on top. They eventually died from starvation. Another version of the legend states that only an old woman and her granddaughter were stranded on top. Rather than face certain starvation, they leapt to their deaths from the top of the mesa. Mesa Verde, Colorado Spanish for "green table," Mesa Verde (pronounced MAY-sah VURD or VUR-day) is a deeply carved mesa in southwest Colorado. The mesa is so-named because sagebrush, yucca, and other vegetation cover the area around it, while pinyon pine and juniper grow on its top.

Unlike most mesas, the top of Mesa Verde is not completely horizontal, but tilts upward from south to north. Its north side rises nearly 2,000 feet (610 meters) above the valley below. Over millions of years, erosion has carved out the sides of the mesa. Overhangs and alcoves have developed where sections of softer sandstone layers have broken away. Mesa Verde is perhaps more noted as a cultural landscape. Archaeologists estimate that twenty-four Native American cultures have had some connection to the area. Prominent among these were the Anasazi, who are believed to have been the ancestors of the modern Pueblo. For more than 700 years, from approximately 600 to 1300 C.E. , their culture flourished at Mesa Verde. In the sheltered alcoves situated high on the mesa's sides, the Anasazi built their dwellings. Ruins of these elaborate stone structures survive to the present day. Archaeologists are not quite sure why the Anasazi abandoned their dwellings abruptly after so many centuries. Monument Valley, Utah and Arizona Lying entirely within the Navajo Indian Reservation on the border between southeastern Utah and northeastern Arizona is Monument Valley.

Filled with striking mesas, buttes, and pinnacles, it is one of the most recognizable landscapes in the entire American Southwest. Countless Hollywood films have used the sandy region as a background, from Stagecoach (1939) to Forrest Gump (1993). More modern advertisements and television commercials are shot in Monument Valley than anywhere else on Earth. Part of the Colorado Plateau, Monument Valley spans 2,000 square miles (5,180 square kilometers). In this flat, desolate landscape, red and orange landforms rise to heights of 1,000 feet (305 meters) or more. They are composed primarily of sandstone. Millions of years of erosion on the Monument Valley, a 2,000-square-mile area on the border of Utah and Arizona, is filled with mesas, buttes, and canyons. Some of the freestanding rock formations rise as high 1,000 feet from the desert floor.

PHOTOGRAPH REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION OF THE CORBIS CORPORATION 10 Incredible Table Top Mountains – Touropia Travel Experts 10 Incredible Table Top Mountains Last updated on November 7, 2016 in Landscapes 6 Comments Deep inside Venezuela’s jungle lie isolated islands of table top mountains, called tepuis. The table top mountains are considered some of the oldest geological formations on Earth, dating back to some two billion years ago. As they are completely isolated from the ground, these ”islands above the rainforest” have a large number of unique plants and animals not found anywhere else in the world. Table top mountains also exist in other parts of the world where they are called mesa, tuya, butte, amba or simply table mountain. 10Mount Conner flickr/ F.d.W. Mount Conner is a flat-topped and horseshoe-shaped mountain. It is often confused with Uluru, since it can be seen from the road to Uluru and Kata Tjuta , when approaching from Alice Springs. The region’s Aborigines, who call the mountain Artilla, believe it to be the home of icemen who create cold weather.

9Brown Bluff Located at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, Brown Bluff is a ice-capped, flat topped 745 meter (2,444 ft) high volcano with a prominent cliff of reddish-brown color. The shores in front of Brown Bluff are home to thousands of Adelie and Gentoo penguins. 8Mount Asgard wikipedia/ Ansgar Walk Mount Asgard is a twin peaked mountain with two flat-topped cylindrical rock towers, separated by a saddle. It is located in Auyuittuq National Park in Baffin Island and is perhaps the most famous of the Baffin Mountains. The peak is named after Asgard, the realm of the gods in Norse mythology. In 1976, stuntman Rick Sylvester performed a BASE jump off the mountain for the opening sequence of the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, although the fictional setting was the Austrian Alps. 7Kukenan Kukenan is a 2,680 meter (8,793 ft) high and about 3 km (1.9 mi) long tepui. It is located near the more famous tepui Mount Roraima.

Kukenan is more difficult to climb, so it is ascended much less frequently than Mount Roraima. Cuquenan Falls, the second tallest waterfall in the world, is located at the south end of the tepui. 6Heroubreio flickr/ Ludovic Hirlimann Situated in the Highlands of Iceland , Herðubreið is a flat-topped, steep-sided volcano which was formed after lava erupted through a thick glacier. This kind of flat topped mountain is called a tuya. Due to the mountain’s steep and unstable sides, the first ascent was in 1908 despite centuries of knowledge of its existence. 5Debre Damo wikipedia/ Ondrej Zvácek Debre Damo in northern Ethiopia is the name of a flat-topped mountain and a 6th century monastery located on the top. The monastery, accessible only by rope up a sheer cliff, is known for its collection of manuscripts, and having the earliest existing church building in Ethiopia still in its original style. Tradition claims the monastery was founded in the sixth century by a Syrian monk.

4Canyonlands flickr/ Redeo Canyonlands in eastern Utah is a national park with a colorful landscape eroded into countless canyons, mesas and buttes by the Colorado and Green River. The rivers divide the park in several district. One district, The Island in the Sky, features a broad and level mesa with amazing views out over the surrounding country. 3Auyantepui photo: ronbrinkmann Auyantepui, which means “Devil’s Mountain” in the language of the native Pemon people, is the most visited tepui in Venezuela. The world’s highest waterfall, Angel Falls, drops from a cleft near the summit of Auyantepui. The falls were named after pilot Jimmie Angel who accidentally discovered the falls in 1933. During a return trip in 1937, Angel crashed his small plane on top of Auyantepui. It took him and his crew 11 days to descend the mountain. 2Mount Roraima flickr/ Alejandro Sosa Mount Roraima is the highest (2,772m/9094ft) and most famous tepui in Venezuela.

Because the mountain is completely isolated from the ground forest almost one third of the species of plant life on Roraima evolved there and are unique to the plateau. Mount Roraima was made famous in 1912 when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote his fictional novel entitled The Lost World. It describes the ascent of a Roraima-like mountain by an expedition in search of prehistoric plants and dinosaurs that were believed to live isolated and unchanged for millions of years on the mountains summit. 1Table Mountain Overlooking the city of Cape Town , Table Mountain is the most famous of the table top mountains in the world. It’s main feature is a level plateau approximately 3 kilometers (2 mi) from side to side, surrounded by steep cliffs. The highest point on Table Mountain is 1,086 meters (3,563 ft) above sea level. There is a cable car that takes passengers to the top of the mountain with views overlooking Cape Town and Table Bay to the north, and the Atlantic seaboard to the west and south. António de Saldanha was the first European to land in Table Bay. He climbed the mighty mountain in 1503 and named it ‘Table Mountain’.

Related Travel Lists Glossary of Geographic and Ocean Subscribe to our mailing list Glossary of Geographic and Oceanographic Terms Land Features Continent Large continuous area of land on the earths surface generally surrounded by water. Island Body of land smaller than a continent that is surrounded by water. (Greenland is the largest island). Isthmus Narrow section of land connecting two larger land areas, surrounded on two sides by water. Peninsula Extension of land surrounded on three sides by water. Mountain Range Continuous chain or series of mountains. Plain Large, low, flat region of land. Plateau Large area that is high and fairly flat. Butte Isolated hill with steep sides, smaller than a plateau. Commonly found in the southwestern United States. Mesa Similar to a plateau, but smaller in size: Flat on top, cliffs on the sides. Valley Low area of land lying between hills of mountains. Ice Cap Large area of ice several thousand feet thick covering either land or water. Water Features Ocean Large body of salt water generally bounded by continental land masses. Sea Body of water smaller than an ocean lying within a continent or island group. Gulf Large area of water partially surrounded by land. Channel Narrow body of water lying between two areas of land.

Bay Small area of water surrounded by land on three sides and penetrating into the land. Lake Smaller body of fresh water surrounded by land. Strait Similar to channel. Submarine Features Basin Large circular depression on the ocean floor, generally 10,000 to 20,000 feet below sea level. Ridge Submerged mountain chain. The largest are the mid ocean ridges which join together to form a feature 40,000 miles long. Rift Sometimes found on the crest of a Ridge. Rise A large elongated elevation lake a ridge but having less steep slopes. Trench Long and narrow V-shaped depressions often found near a contnent or on the outside of island arcs. Fracture Zone Zones of irregular topography thousands of miles long and about 100 miles wide, which separate large regions of the ocean floor having different depths or types of topography. Continental Shelf Shallow marine terrace bordering the continents. The shelf deepens gradually to a depth of 600 feet about 50 miles from shore where a sudden increase in slope angle marks the top of the Continental Slope.

Continental Slope Slope from the outer edge of the Continental Shelf to the ocean basin. Submarine Canyon Stee-sided gorge cut into the Continental Slope and Shelf thought to be cut by underwater flows of sediment called Turbidity Currents. Seamount Submerged mountain, generally of volcanic origin, having at least 500 fathoms (3000 feet) of relief. Some seamounts, called guyots, have flat tops. They are submerged volcanic islands which had their tops smoothed by surf and erosion while they were above the surface.

Question: In the USA, what name is given to an isolated hill with steep sides and a small flat top?
Answer: Butte