Sutter Buttes

The Sutter Buttes are an isolated circular group of volcanic hills rising from the flat Sacramento Valley in northern California, commonly described as the “world’s smallest mountain range.” The formation is the remnant of volcanic activity in an otherwise agricultural plain.

The buttes present steep-sided hills, volcanic domes, ridges, and small valleys that contrast with the surrounding flat farmland; they are visible from nearby towns and highways and are a distinctive local landmark. Access is limited in many places because much of the land is privately owned, though viewpoints and occasional guided visits provide public access.

The Sutter Buttes are volcanic in origin and have been a noted landscape feature since Euro-American settlement of the Sacramento Valley; Native American groups lived in and around the buttes prior to settlement. The hills have been used for grazing and limited development while remaining a visually prominent geological remnant.

The buttes rise in Sutter County in California’s Central Valley, north of Sacramento and near towns such as Yuba City and Marysville, forming an isolated island of higher ground on the valley floor.

• Nickname: Often described in guidebooks and popular sources as the "world's smallest mountain range," a frequently-cited informal superlative applied to the Sutter Buttes.
• Geological isolation: The hills are an isolated volcanic remnant rising from the surrounding Sacramento Valley floor and are visible for many miles across the plain.

What to See #

• South Butte: South Butte, the highest summit in the group, rising to roughly 2,122 feet (about 647 metres) above sea level.