Missouri Buttes

Missouri Buttes or Little Missouri Buttes are located in Crook County in northeast Wyoming on the northwest flank of the Black Hills Uplift. The buttes are 3.5 mi northwest (N60°W) of Devils Tower between the Little Missouri and the Belle Fourche rivers.

The Missouri Buttes consist of four separate summits which arise from an eroded mesa platform, the Butte Divide, which has an elevation of 4650 ft. The butte peaks form a rough rectangle 0.5 x 0.65 mi. in size. The northwest butte is the highest with a summit at 5374 ft. The northeast butte has an elevation of 5212 ft, the southwest butte has an elevation of 5020 ft and the southeast butte has an elevation of 5055 ft. A small lake, the Missouri Buttes Lake, lies 800 m west of the buttes.

As with Devils Tower, the buttes are composed of igneous intrusive phonolite which exhibits columnar jointing. The rocks of the buttes have been interpreted to be part of a laccolith, a magmatic stock or volcano conduits that became exposed at the surface after overlying rocks were eroded.

The Missouri Buttes are located on private land with no public access.