butte

thumb|West and East Mitten Buttes|The Mittens and [[Merrick Butte in Monument Valley, Utah–Arizona]]

In geomorphology, a butte ( ) is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word butte comes from the French word (), meaning 'knoll' (of any size); its use is prevalent in the Western United States, including the Southwest, where is used for the larger landform.