Formation
Buttes are formed by erosion when hard caprock covers a layer of softer rock that is eventually worn away. The hard rock thus resists erosion. On a much smaller scale, the same process forms hoodoos. The caprock provides protection for the less resistant rock below from wind abrasion which leaves it standing isolated. As the top is further eroded by abrasion and weathering the excess material that falls away builds up the base.
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Black Butte, near Sisters, Oregon
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Courthouse Butte near Sedona, Arizona
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Signal Butte near Big Spring of West Texas
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Owl Head Buttes in the Tortolita Mountains, NW of Tucson, Arizona.
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