Buttes
Buttes are similar to plateaus because they have steep sides and relatively flat top. The difference is that buttes are not as widespread over areas of land and they are more like towers of rock as opposed to flat topped mountains. However, buttes were once a part of a larger structure such as a mesa or a plateau and because of erosion they have become separated from the rest of the original structure so naturally a butte is the smallest of these structures (National geographic, Butte). Buttes are typically formed from a stream cutting through the land and taking with it debris and carrying it away through erosion (National geographic, Erosion). Since streams are cutting through the land to separate the land from the original structure, buttes typically do not lose much height. Buttes are typical of arid regions like Arizona and Utah in the United States as well as in the deserts of Mexico (National geographic, Butte).
Buttes are similar to plateaus because they have steep sides and relatively flat top. The difference is that buttes are not as widespread over areas of land and they are more like towers of rock as opposed to flat topped mountains. However, buttes were once a part of a larger structure such as a mesa or a plateau and because of erosion they have become separated from the rest of the original structure so naturally a butte is the smallest of these structures (National geographic, Butte). Buttes are typically formed from a stream cutting through the land and taking with it debris and carrying it away through erosion (National geographic, Erosion). Since streams are cutting through the land to separate the land from the original structure, buttes typically do not lose much height. Buttes are typical of arid regions like Arizona and Utah in the United States as well as in the deserts of Mexico (National geographic, Butte).