Both are geographicl formations that look like worn down mountains. i saw many of each travelling through New Mexico and Arizona. I need to know thw differences between the two-- what characteristics apply to the formations.
2006-08-15 09:38:44 · 6 answers · asked by austinguurl 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
The difference between a mesa and a butte is a matter of size and scale with a mesa being bigger than a butte although there is no precise definition of when exactly a butte becomes a mesa. Sort of like a river is bigger than a creek even though there is no precise definition of when a creek becomes a river.
Both mesas and buttes are defined by having flat tops and steep sides. Most technical sources will also say that they must be capped on top with a resistant rock layer (which is usually what causes mesas and buttes to form with a flat top). A few sources will give specific cut-offs between the two based on area (see websites below), but there is no universal agreement (and of course, the people who named the formations got to name them whatever they wanted :) ).
Mesa is the Spanish word for 'table' and one non-scientific, but very workable rule-of-thumb that I like is 'if it is too tall and narrow to resemble a table, then it must be a butte'. Works for me. :)
In their excellent book, "Pages of Stone: Geology of the Grand Canyon & Plateau Country National Parks & Monuments" geologists Halka and Lucy Chronic describe the progression of landforms as this: plateaus (the largest) erode into mesas, mesas erode into buttes, and buttes erode into spires (the smallest).
2006-08-15 15:37:06 · answer #1 · answered by sascoaz 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Flat top! They are both protrusions, but a mesa has to have a flat top, and a butte can have a variety of shapes.
If you look up the definition of a butte, you may find information that it must be flat-topped as well. However, many buttes that are named do not follow this rule (e.g. Sutter Buttes, CA; Red Butte, UT).
2006-08-15 09:52:41 · answer #2 · answered by QFL 24-7 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A butte is steep on all sides. A mesa can have a gentle slope onto one or more sides it and also has a larger flat top. A mesa is a kind of a peninsula, while a butte is more of an island.
2006-08-15 09:45:28 · answer #3 · answered by Mr. Quark 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
As a Phoenix native - I'd suggest that - a butte is an isolated pillar, as you might see in Monument Valley. A mesa tends to be a large elevated plateau.
2006-08-15 09:45:36 · answer #4 · answered by dryheatdave 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That question is a Beaut! I wouldn't even mesa round wid it. Even the experts are not very clear in the link.
2006-08-15 12:41:04 · answer #5 · answered by Kes 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Most mesa are an upheavel and leveling of tetonic rock. Most buttes are old volcano cores.
2006-08-15 13:25:36 · answer #6 · answered by Boliver Bumgut 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋