Sutter Buttes

Geology

The Sutter Buttes lie within the Central Valley of California.^[8]

They were formed about 1.6 million years ago in the early Pleistocene Epoch^[8] by volcanic activity. They are the remnants of a volcano that has been dormant^[9] for about 1.4 million years.^[10] Some geological references suggest that the volcano represents the southernmost boundary of the Cascade Volcanoes, but there are significant differences in age and form compared to the other volcanoes in that range.^[11] Others suggest that its age places it with the volcanic elements of the California Coast Ranges; its composition is closer to that range but does have significant differences.^[12]

The magma that gave rise to the Sutter Buttes first appeared as rhyolite, a molten rock rich in silicates. This silica-rich lava was viscous and thick, and emerged from the crust thick plugs of magma that pushed their way to the surface slowly, approximately 1.6 million years ago. Following this, a second set of eruptions occurred, whose magma was composed of andesite and dacite, compositions that were rich in magnesium and iron, which were much less viscous. This less viscous magma both breached the surface, as well as lifted the surrounding layers of earth, causing the volcanic domes that are representative of the Sutter Buttes today to sit prominently above the floor around them. As the softer sediments of these domes were eroded away their sediments were dispersed around the domes, leading to the sloping fan of earth around the Sutter Buttes, in formations known as ramparts.

Beneath the Sutter Buttes there exists a crisscrossing network of subterranean faults and ridgelines that have served as a network of channels, providing a relatively easy path to the surface for the magma that has formed the Sutter Buttes, as well as the rest of the Coast Range.^[10]

Exploration of natural gas leaks was first undertaken at South Butte by Dexter Cook in 1864, when he dug a 65 ft (20 m) shaft.^[10] Sutter Buttes Oil Company drilled a well in 1927 to a depth of 2,900 ft (880 m), 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.^[13]

Soils and vegetation

The rugged central part of the Buttes has a stony, brown sandy loam of variable depth and good-to-somewhat-excessive drainage. The smoother perimeter has more variable soil, with clay or silt loam areas among the sandy loams. These soils support grassland or oak woodland.^[14] The Sutter Buttes contain many species of flora and fauna. Wildflowers are represented by numerous taxa; included in these many wildflowers is the yellow mariposa lily, Calochortus luteus.^[15]

Indigenous era

The Sutter Buttes figure prominently in the creation stories and other traditions of the indigenous Nisenan, Maidu, and Wintun peoples. The Nisenan lived on the East side of the Buttes, while the Patwin Wintun lived on the West side. The Nisenan name for the Buttes is Estom Yanim.^[16] The Maidu name for the Sutter Buttes is Histum Yani (middle mountains of the Valley) or Esto Yamani,^[17] while the Wintun name for the Sutter Buttes is Onolai-Tol.^[18] 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 acorns and other foods or to hunt game. The Buttes were also a center of regional Native American religion. According to anthropologist Alfred Kroeber, 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.^[12]

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"^[19] (the three peaks, name that appears on the Mexican land grant made to Captain John Sutter). In 1843, John C. Frémont called them "The Three Buttes." James Dwight Dana explored the buttes on 16 Oct. 1841, while part of the United States Exploring Expedition.^[10] 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.^[20]

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.^{[21][22][full citation needed]} During the Gold Rush, the Buttes were called the "Marysville Buttes".^[23] In 1920, the state of California failed to purchase the Marysville Buttes,^[12] which finally became the "Sutter Buttes" in 1949.

Howel Williams further investigated the geology of the buttes in 1929. Williams teamed up with Garniss Curtis in 1977 to include radiometric dating of the area.^[10]

Since 1929, the State of California considered purchasing the land for protection and a state park.^[24] In 2003, the California Department of Parks and Recreation purchased 1,784.5 acres (7.222 km²) 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, but it was not officially named.^[25][26][12]