Crested Butte

Crested Butte is a prominent mountain summit in the West Elk Mountains range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The 12,168-foot (3,709 m) peak is located in Gunnison National Forest, 2.1 miles (3.4 km) northeast by east (bearing 59°) of the Town of Crested Butte in Gunnison County, Colorado, United States. Ski lifts and runs of the Crested Butte Mountain Resort occupy the north side of the mountain.

Climate

Climate type is dominated by the winter season, a long, bitterly cold period with short, clear days, relatively little precipitation mostly in the form of snow, and low humidity.

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Butte

A butte /bjuːt/ is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller than mesas, plateaus, and table landforms. The word butte comes from a French word meaning "small hill"; its use is prevalent in the Western United States, including the southwest where "mesa" is also used for the larger landform. Because of their distinctive shapes, buttes are frequently landmarks in plains and mountainous areas. In differentiating mesas and buttes, geographers use the rule of thumb that a mesa has a top that is wider than its height, while a butte has a top that is narrower than its height.

Notable buttes

The Mitten Buttes of Monument Valley in Arizona are two of the most distinctive and widely-recognized buttes. Monument Valley and the Mittens provided backgrounds in scenes from many western-themed films, including seven movies directed by John Ford. The Devils Tower in northeastern Wyoming is a laccolithic butte composed of igneous rock rather than sandstone, limestone or other sedimentary rocks.

Crested Butte, Colorado

The Town of Crested Butte is a Home Rule Municipality in Gunnison County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 1,487 at the 2010 United States Census. The former coal mining town is now called "the last great Colorado ski town". Crested Butte is a destination for skiing, mountain biking, and a variety of other outdoor activities.

The Colorado General Assembly designated Crested Butte the Wildflower Capital of Colorado.

History

The East River Valley where Crested Butte is located was once used as a summer residence by the Ute People. However, they were quickly displaced when European-Americans first entered the area. The first whites to explore the valley were beaver trappers, shortly followed by surveyors. Captain John Gunnison, after whom Gunnison County is named, was one of the early explorers to enter the area.

In the 1860s and 1870s coal and silver mines began to open in the surrounding area, and many little mining towns formed. However, when silver mining began to decline, many of these towns failed. Crested Butte, however, was in a better position to survive because it served as a supply town to the surrounding area.