Rising from California’s Sacramento Valley, the enigmatic Sutter Buttes (“Buttes”) emerge as the smallest and perhaps least known mountain range in the world. The Buttes are truly singular and stand tall as both a landmark and icon for the southern Sacramento Valley. The isolated cluster of dry, rugged, peaks is near the heart of the southern Sacramento Valley and is visible from throughout the region. Surrounding the Buttes is a special landscape that joins together a world-renowned mosaic of natural abundance: productive farmlands, wildlife refuges and managed wetlands, cities and rural communities, and meandering rivers that support and feed fisheries and natural habitats. Nourishment and sustenance from the fields, habitats for fish and wildlife, recreation and a special quality of life—the Sacramento Valley is home to all of this, and more. The Buttes and the Sacramento Valley continue to provide what’s essential to California’s future success and prosperity.
On a Saturday in September, my family and I spent the day circling the Sutter Buttes. For those who have not had a chance to see or explore the Buttes, the attached slideshow shows pictures from 360° of the Buttes shot by my 15-year old son Nielsen, an accomplished and aspiring photographer. He was shooting that day
with a Canon T3i with a Canon 18-55 lens.
We started on the southern flank near the town of Sutter and then proceeded west and circled the Buttes and finished up in Yuba City. The day was warm, with the haze from the Rumsey Canyon fire spreading over the Buttes. Although the Buttes are in every picture, it is the working landscape in the foreground that gives dimension to the Sacramento Valley. Through these pictures, you can sense the blending of the working and natural landscape surrounding the iconic Sutter Buttes. On this day, the rangeland surrounding the Buttes was bone-dry, while the highly productive and pastoral rice, trees and other crops were verdant and on the verge of harvest. On the northern flank, the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area was partially flooded and had attracted ducks and several other birds.
For those interested in exploring and learning more about the Sutter Buttes, the Middle Mountain Foundation provides conservation and educational programs. The Foundation draws
its name from the Maidu Indians who lived in harmony with the land’s natural elements, always preserving it for their future generations. For the geology of the Sutter Buttes, see United States Geologic Survey (USGS) and, also visit the Sacred Land Film Project.