Sutter Buttes

The Sutter Buttes (Maidu: Histum Yani or Esto Yamani, Wintun: Olonai-Tol, Nisenan: Estom Yanim) 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. These remnants of a dormant volcano are colloquially referred to as the world's smallest mountain range. The Sutter Buttes have as their highest point the summit of South Butte, at 2,122 ft (647 m), which is also the highest point in Sutter County. Land was designated as a state park in 2003 after the California State Park system acquired property on the North of the buttes. It has yet to be named officially and is not open to the public as the appropriate classification of park resources is still being decided by property management. At the base of the mountain is the small town of Sutter. The town, county, and buttes are named for John Sutter, a man who received a large land grant in the area from the Mexican government.