MarysvilleButtesGasFieldGeologicCrossSection

The Sutter Buttes (

Maidu The Maidu are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of northern California. They reside in the central Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada, in the watershed area of the Feather River, Feather and American River, American ...

: ''Histum Yani'' or ''Esto Yamani'',

lava dome In volcanology, a lava dome is a circular mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano. Dome-building eruptions are common, particularly in convergent plate boundary settings. Around 6% of eruptions ...

s which rise as

butte __NOTOC__ 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 a French word me ...

s above the flat plains of the

Sacramento Valley , photo =Sacramento Riverfront.jpg , photo_caption= Sacramento , map_image=Map california central valley.jpg , map_caption= The Central Valley of California , location = California, United States , coordinates = , boundaries = Sierra Nevada (ea ...

Sutter County Sutter County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 99,633. The county seat is Yuba City. Sutter County is included in the Yuba City, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Sacra ...

northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

. 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, the Sutter Buttes have as their highest point the summit of South Butte, at , 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.

Geography

The small range forms a rough circle approximately from north to south and east to west.

Geology

The Sutter Buttes lie within the

Central Valley of California The Central Valley is a broad, elongated, flat valley that dominates the interior of California. It is wide and runs approximately from north-northwest to south-southeast, inland from and parallel to the Pacific coast of the state. It cov ...

. They were formed about 1.6 million years ago in the early

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

EpochState of California, ‘’California Geologic Provinces,’’ Note 36, page 2
by

volcanic activity Volcanism, vulcanism or volcanicity is the phenomenon of eruption of molten rock (magma) onto the surface of the Earth or a solid-surface planet or moon, where lava, pyroclastics, and volcanic gases erupt through a break in the surface called a ...

. 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 The Cascade Volcanoes (also known as the Cascade Volcanic Arc or the Cascade Arc) are a number of volcanoes in a volcanic arc in western North America, extending from southwestern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern ...

, 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 The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges and the Klamath Mountains. ...

; its composition is closer to that range but does have significant differences.Don Knapp
A Chance to Hike California’s Hidden Buttes (Maybe)
''Nytimes.com'', 16 March 2007 Exploration of natural gas leaks was first undertaken at South Butte by Dexter Cook in 1864, when he dug a shaft. Sutter Buttes Oil Company drilled a well in 1927 to a depth of , and other wells were drilled on the western margin. Buttes Oilfields, Inc., drilled a well in 1932, but it wasn't until June 1935 though that it drilled the first of four gas wells in the area of T. 15 N., R 1 E.

Soils and vegetation

The rugged central part of the Buttes has a stony, brown

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class ...

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand ( particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–si ...

of variable depth and good-to-somewhat-excessive drainage. The smoother perimeter has more variable soil, with

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay pa ...

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel ...

loam areas among the sandy loams. These soils support

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

or oak

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

. The Sutter Buttes contain many

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring ( indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is '' flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. ...

Wildflower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the ...

s are represented by numerous

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

; included in these many wildflowers is the yellow mariposa lily, ''

Calochortus luteus ''Calochortus luteus'', the yellow mariposa lily, is a mariposa lily endemic to California. Description The primarily bright deep yellow flower is 3–5 cm across and perianth bulb-shaped, lined red-brown inside, often also with central re ...

''.

History

Indigenous era

The Sutter Buttes figure prominently in the creation stories and other traditions of the indigenous Nisenan,

, and

Wintun The Wintun are members of several related Native American peoples of Northern California, including the Wintu (northern), Nomlaki (central), and Patwin (southern).Pritzker, 152 Patwin The Patwin (also Patween, Southern Wintu) are a band of Wintun people native to the area of Northern California. The Patwin comprise the southern branch of the Wintun group, native inhabitants of California since approximately 500 AD. The Patw ...

Wintun lived on the West side. The Nisenan name for the Buttes is ''Estom Yanim.'' The Maidu name for the Sutter Buttes is ''Histum Yani'' (middle mountains of the Valley) or ''Esto Yamani'', while the Wintun name for the Sutter Buttes is ''Onolai-Tol''. All of these names roughly mean "The Middle Mountains". There were seasonal encampments in the Buttes, and all these tribes visited the Buttes regularly to gather

acorn The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera '' Quercus'' and '' Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and b ...

s and other foods or to hunt

game A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (suc ...

. The Buttes were also a center of regional Native American religion. According to anthropologist

Alfred Kroeber Alfred Louis Kroeber (June 11, 1876 – October 5, 1960) was an American cultural anthropologist. He received his PhD under Franz Boas at Columbia University in 1901, the first doctorate in anthropology awarded by Columbia. He was also the first ...

, the Patwin village where the city of Colusa now stands was the “hotbed” where the Kuksu Cult was established. This religion spread through much of Northern California. Ceremonies were performed in earthen dance lodges where spirit impersonators would re-enact ancient mythological events. In the Maidu and Nisenan religions, the Sutter Buttes is the place where dying people came to ascend to the afterlife.

Spanish & Mexican periods

The Spaniard Gabriel Moraga was the first European to see the Sutter Buttes in 1806. In 1817, the Californio Luis Antonio Argüello named it "los tres picos" (the three peaks, name that appears on the Mexican land grant made to Captain John Sutter). In 1843,

John C. Frémont John Charles Frémont or Fremont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was an American explorer, military officer, and politician. He was a U.S. Senator from California and was the first Republican nominee for president of the United States in 1856 ...

called them "The Three Buttes."

James Dwight Dana James Dwight Dana FRS FRSE (February 12, 1813 – April 14, 1895) was an American geologist, mineralogist, volcanologist, and zoologist. He made pioneering studies of mountain-building, volcanic activity, and the origin and structure of continent ...

explored the buttes on 16 Oct. 1841, while part of the

United States Exploring Expedition The United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842 was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby ...

. In June 1846, John C. Frémont, on a massacre spree since April, stopped at the Sutter Buttes. Fearing an attack from the local Indians, Frémont led a preemptive attack which killed many Indians and led the others to flee the area. It remains known as the

Sutter Buttes massacre The Sutter Buttes massacre refers to the murder of a large group of Californian Indians on the Sacramento River near Sutter Buttes in June 1846 by a militarized expeditionary band led by Captain John C. Frémont of Virginia. Estimates of the numbe ...

American period

Under the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago at the end of the war with Mexico the United States acquired California. Under the treaty the United States agreed to respect titles conveyed by Mexico. John Sutter claimed ownership of the Sutter Buttes under his New Helvetia grant. The United States Land Commission and the courts determined that Sutter's New Helvetia Grant did not include the Buttes. No land title in the Buttes arises under a Spanish or Mexican Grant, all title to land in the Buttes derives from the federal government. During the

Gold Rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...

, the Buttes were called the "Marysville Buttes". In 1920, the state of California failed to purchase the Marysville Buttes, which finally became the "Sutter Buttes" in 1949.

Howel Williams Howel Williams (October 12, 1898 – January 12, 1980) was a noted American geologist and volcanologist. Early life He was born of Welsh parents in Liverpool, England, on October 12, 1898. He received a BA in geography in 1923 and an MA in ar ...

further investigated the geology of the buttes in 1929. Williams teamed up with Garniss Curtis in 1977 to include

radiometric dating Radiometric dating, radioactive dating or radioisotope dating is a technique which is used to date materials such as rocks or carbon, in which trace radioactive impurities were selectively incorporated when they were formed. The method compares ...

of the area. In 2003, the California Department of Parks and Recreation purchased in Peace Valley, on the north side of the Sutter Buttes, for $3 million with the intent to develop it as a state park. In 2005 the Parks Commission determined that the property would be a state park. The land was served by a road easement at the time it was purchased by the state. An underlying landowner sued asserting that the easement was insufficient to permit park visitor travel between Pennington Road and the park, and lost. The court determined that the easement was sufficient to allow visitor use. This land will continue to sit unused for the foreseeable future. The Parks agency has indicated that persons who can access the park from adjoining private lands may enter and use the park. The only access to the property is an easement wide running about from North Butte Road. The route crosses private lands and has not been prepared for regular public access.

Titan missile silos and U-2 crash

Between 1960 and 1962, the US Air Force built a Titan 1 ICBM missile launch complex at the north side of the Sutter Buttes, the Pennington Missile Base. A part of the 851st Strategic Missile Squadron headquartered at nearby

Beale Air Force Base Beale Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base located approximately east of Marysville, California. It is located outside Linda, about east of the towns of Marysville and Yuba City, and about north of Sacramento. The host ...

, the site was designated "851-B." The companion 851-A and 851-C launch sites were located near Lincoln, California and Chico, California. Designed by the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

to survive a nuclear attack, the Titan 1 complexes were the largest and most hardened of the first-generation ICBM facilities. The sites were composed of three underground missile silos interconnected to support and command bunkers by a network of tunnels. The facility was active between 1962 and 1965. In January 1965, the Titan 1 ICBM was phased out by the US Department of Defense. All missiles were removed from the site by February 1965. The facilities were then decommissioned and the land subsequently sold back into private ownership. The site has been host to many vandals and trespassers since the early 1980s to the present. In September 2016, a US Air Force

Lockheed U-2 The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "''Dragon Lady''", is an American single- jet engine, high altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It provides d ...

from the

1st Reconnaissance Squadron The 1st Reconnaissance Squadron is a United States Air Force squadron, assigned to the 9th Operations Group, Beale Air Force Base, California. The 1st Reconnaissance Squadron is the United States military's oldest flying unit, first establish ...

crashed in the Sutter Buttes during a training mission, killing one of the two pilots.

Public access

Before 1960, the land was private, but accessible to the public. In 1960, a fire spread on the Buttes and the ranchers decided to close its access to the public. Since the state acquired some of the Buttes, it intends to redevelop its public access but the neighboring ranchers are highly hostile to that idea. The state park land came with an easement running between the park and Pennington Road to the north. An underlying land owner sued the state asserting that the easement was not sufficient to allow park visitor use. The underlying landowner lost and the court determined that the state could permit visitor access to and from the park over the easement. Public access to the Sutter Buttes is limited. Almost all of the land is privately held by ranchers and farmers, but an important exception is a parcel encompassing most of North Butte, donated by deed from the McClatchy Company to the Sutter Buttes Regional Land Trust. The terms of the deed of conveyance include the stipulation that the donated land be used for supervised public educational access, not for private use. The deed further stipulates that if these terms of conveyance are violated the land can revert to McClatchy ownership. A few naturalists and local organizations, including Middle Mountain Interpretive Hikes, and the Sutter County Historical Society, lead hikes through some areas. Since 1929, the State of California had considered purchasing the land for protection and a state park. ;Park Access: The State acquired access to the park property at the time it purchased the property. There are two basic theories supporting public access to the park: That the road is a dedicated public road, and that the road is on a road easement purchased by the owner of the park property from the owners of the burdened land. The road running between the park and North Butte Road may be a public road by dedication. All of the land in the Sutter Buttes became federal land under the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago. Before this land was conveyed out of federal ownership it was surveyed and maps were prepared and adopted by the federal General Land Office. The survey notes and approved maps show a road running between what is now North Butte Road and the northwest corner of the park property before the land was conveyed out. Under the federal mining act of 1866, the federal government offered roads established on the federal land to the people. This offer could be and apparently was accepted by use. The road today is not in the exact place it was on the federal maps but is the functional equivalent and so appears to be a public road. ;The purchased road easement In 1928 T.J. Brady, then the owner of the property that became the park, purchased a road easement from Richard Campbell Sr. and Lee and Allie Ballard, then the owners of land between what became the park property and North Butte Road, to provide access to his property. Richard Campbell Jr. sued the state when the park was established, claiming that the existing easement was not sufficient to permit the state to allow park visitors to use the road. Campbell and his co-plaintiffs lost: The courts determined that the state could use the easement for visitor access to the park.Ruling on Motion for Summary Judgement and/or Adjudication in Richard Campbell v. State of California, Superior Court, County of Sutter CVCS 08-2421; California Court of Appeal, 3rd DCA C070369 (March 16, 2015).

Gallery

File:Sutter Buttes2.jpg, Sutter Buttes, 2006 File:SutterButtesJohnFremontMonument.JPG, A monument at the base of the mountains indicating that

John C. Fremont John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

camped near here File:SutterButesFremontMemorialInscription.JPG, A close up of the inscription on the memorial File:The Tiki at the Sutter Buttes, California.jpg, The Tiki File:Rock of Gibraltar, Sutter Buttes, California.jpg, Rock of Gibraltar, Sutter Buttes, California File:Hikers in the Sutter Buttes.jpg, High transect hikers resting while ascending a slope in the Sutter Buttes, California

References

Sources

* * * * * * * *

External links

* * * {{Authority control Buttes of California Locations in Native American mythology Mountain ranges of Sutter County, California Geography of the Sacramento Valley Volcanoes of California Extinct volcanoes Pleistocene lava domes Pleistocene California John Sutter Mountain ranges of Northern California