The name comes from the prominent butte (3,428 ft 1,045 m) three miles (5 km) to the south.
Artesian springs at the base of the butte have attracted people during both prehistoric and historic times.
Buttes are formed when most of a layer(s) of rocks are removed from an area.
On the eastern side of the county, it is mostly characterized by large buttes of much older volcanic origin.
Named in association with the 2410 m butte of the same name on the west side of the glacier.
The country was well watered by pure streams fringed by belts of timber and the high buttes were clothed with grass to their summits.
Because of their distinctive shapes, buttes are frequently landmarks in plains and mountainous areas.
The massif was shaped by hundreds of millions of years of riverine erosion to yield diverse bluff and butte landforms.
