Missouri Buttes
Encyclopedia
Missouri Buttes are located in the U.S. state
of Wyoming
. The buttes are 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of Devils Tower
and consist of 4 separate summits. Like Devils Tower, the buttes are believed to be part of a laccolith
that became exposed at the surface after overlying rocks eroded away.
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
. The buttes are 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of Devils Tower
Devils Tower National Monument
Devils Tower is an igneous intrusion or laccolith located in the Black Hills near Hulett and Sundance in Crook County, northeastern Wyoming, above the Belle Fourche River...
and consist of 4 separate summits. Like Devils Tower, the buttes are believed to be part of a laccolith
Laccolith
A laccolith is a sheet intrusion that has been injected between two layers of sedimentary rock. The pressure of the magma is high enough that the overlying strata are forced upward, giving the laccolith a dome or mushroom-like form with a generally planar base.Laccoliths tend to form at relatively...
that became exposed at the surface after overlying rocks eroded away.