as in cliffs
a type of hill with a flat top and steep sides that is found in the southwestern U.S.
The otherworldly sandstone buttes of Monument Valley, Arizona are well worth a visit.
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Recent Examples of buttes
Towering buttes shoot out of waving prairie grasses.
—
Julia Sayers Gokhale, Midwest Living, 1 June 2026
The South Dakota park features over 240,000 acres of rugged spires, streaky buttes, and vast fossil beds.
—Stephanie Vermillion, Travel + Leisure, 17 May 2026
The kitchen turns out whimsical bar food, like Mexican pizza, and wall art depicts the buttes and cacti of the Seussian desert.
—Chris Malloy, Bon Appetit Magazine, 14 Apr. 2026
Alaska runs along a ridge just outside of Arches National Park, offering long-range views of the park’s towers and buttes across the Salt Valley.
—Graham Averill, Outside, 28 Mar. 2026
As Arizona yielded to New Mexico, the dirt seemed to get redder and the ridges rose to form buttes.
—Tribune News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
Within minutes, guests can be standing beneath the stone arches of Arches National Park, 4 miles away, or surveying mesas and buttes in Canyonlands National Park, 30 miles southwest, where the Colorado and Green rivers have carved the landscape for centuries.
—Cari Shane, USA Today, 15 Oct. 2025
In Arizona's high country, the leaves could soon match the color of some of the buttes.
—Michael Salerno, AZCentral.com, 9 Oct. 2025
Julia Sayers Gokhale, Midwest Living, 1 June 2026
The South Dakota park features over 240,000 acres of rugged spires, streaky buttes, and vast fossil beds.
—Stephanie Vermillion, Travel + Leisure, 17 May 2026
The kitchen turns out whimsical bar food, like Mexican pizza, and wall art depicts the buttes and cacti of the Seussian desert.
—Chris Malloy, Bon Appetit Magazine, 14 Apr. 2026
Alaska runs along a ridge just outside of Arches National Park, offering long-range views of the park’s towers and buttes across the Salt Valley.
—Graham Averill, Outside, 28 Mar. 2026
As Arizona yielded to New Mexico, the dirt seemed to get redder and the ridges rose to form buttes.
—Tribune News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
Within minutes, guests can be standing beneath the stone arches of Arches National Park, 4 miles away, or surveying mesas and buttes in Canyonlands National Park, 30 miles southwest, where the Colorado and Green rivers have carved the landscape for centuries.
—Cari Shane, USA Today, 15 Oct. 2025
In Arizona's high country, the leaves could soon match the color of some of the buttes.
—Michael Salerno, AZCentral.com, 9 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for buttes
Noun
-
Puglia’s Adriatic coast is dramatic, especially between Polignano a Mare and Monopoli, where clear waters lap undulating cliffs and flow into the occasional sea cave.—
Elizabeth Heath,
Travel + Leisure,
29 May 2026
-
According to state officials, the property features steep canyons, limestone cliffs, rolling hills, and long stretches of the West Nueces River, all centered around a spring‑fed 30‑acre lake.—
Doug Myers,
CBS News,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
For the best experience, sit outside in the courtyard, under a trellis of vines, where you’ll be treated to uninterrupted view of the gardens and the mountains beyond.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
-
Happiness is equated early on to alpine hamlets ensconced between verdant mountains carved by pristine waterfalls.—
Viju Mathew,
Robb Report,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
Latinos have always been an intrinsic feature of the Western Slope’s socioeconomic landscape, as ubiquitous as the area’s mountains, mesas and canyons.—
Ernesto Sagás,
The Conversation,
26 May 2026
-
West of the mountains, the scenery opens into Utah’s red-rock country, defined by mesas and sandstone formations, before stretching into the high desert of Nevada, where towns are sparse.—
AFAR Media,
AFAR Media,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The Nile as a source of life The Nile floods at the end of every summer, as rains from the Indian Ocean monsoon fall on the highlands of East Africa.—
Geoff Emberling,
The Conversation,
19 May 2026
-
Born in Chi Xot (San Juan Comalapa), Guatemala, in 1987, Calel is of Maya Kaqchikel heritage and frequently takes inspiration from ancestral traditions and from the cultural practices of his home country’s midwestern highlands.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
19 May 2026
Noun
-
Rising from the Mediterranean, this little isle, full of dramatic peaks and grottoes, has been tempting travelers for 2,000 years.—
Laura Itzkowitz,
Travel + Leisure,
30 May 2026
-
Chance of lightning increases as a thunderstorm approaches and peaks when the storm is overhead.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
30 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Buttes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/buttes. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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