The Sutter Buttes are a small circular complex of eroded volcanic lava domes which rise as buttes above the flat plains of the Sacramento Valley in Sutter County, Northern California. They are situated just outside Yuba City in the northern part of the state's Central Valley.Referred to as the world's smallest mountain range, Sutter Buttes has as its highest point the summit of South Butte, at 2122+ feet (647+ m), which is also the highest point in Sutter County.At the base of the mountain is the small town of Sutter. Both the town and the buttes are named for John Sutter, who received a large land grant in the area from the Mexican government.Natural historyThe small range forms a rough circle approximately 10 miles from north to south and east to west.GeologyThe Sutter Buttes lie within the Great Valley of California.They were formed about 1.6 million years ago in the early Pliocene Epoch by volcanic activity. They are the remnants of a volcano that has been dormant for about 1.4 million years. Some geological references suggest that the volcano represents the southernmost boundary of the Cascade Volcanoes, but there are significant differences in age and form compared to the other volcanoes in that range. Others suggest that its age places it with the volcanic elements of the California Coast Ranges; its composition is closer to that range but does have significant differences. The volcano is believed to have erupted along a now inactive fault line.
