Best Erosional

Ancient Art is a slender sandstone tower in the Fisher Towers group northeast of Moab, Utah. It is distinguished by an unusually narrow, twisted summit commonly called the Corkscrew, reached through exposed technical climbing rather than a walking trail. The formation is a recognized desert climbing...

A Monument Valley sandstone butte named after Ernest Mitchell, killed alongside prospector James Merrick in 1880 while seeking a legendary silver deposit.

Monument Rocks, also called the Chalk Pyramids, is a group of tall chalk formations in Gove County, Kansas. The towers, arches, and isolated blocks consist of Niobrara Chalk deposited in the Western Interior Seaway during the Late Cretaceous, and fossils of marine organisms occur in the surrounding...

North Six-Shooter Peak is a slender sandstone tower near the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park in southeastern Utah. It stands with the broader South Six-Shooter Peak above the desert landscape near Indian Creek, and the pair's profiles inspired their firearm-related names. The formation...

Washer Woman is a narrow sandstone tower in the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park in Utah. Its name refers to a silhouette that resembles a person bent over a washtub, and the formation is visible from overlooks and routes near the White Rim. It is one of the park's recognizabl...

Candlestick Tower is a slender sandstone formation in the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park in southeastern Utah. It rises above the canyons and benches near the White Rim and can be seen from park overlooks and backcountry routes. Named for its tall, tapered profile, the tower...

Courthouse Rock is a prominent erosional landform in Morrill County, western Nebraska, rising roughly 400 feet above the North Platte River valley. Composed principally of sedimentary rock, it served as a visible landmark for emigrants traveling west on the Oregon, California, and Mormon trails duri...

South Six-Shooter Peak is an isolated sandstone tower in southeastern Utah, east of the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park. Together with North Six-Shooter Peak, it forms a conspicuous pair of erosional landmarks visible from roads and open desert around Indian Creek and State Route 211....

Junction Butte is a prominent sandstone butte in the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park, Utah. It stands near Grand View Point above the deeply incised landscape formed by the Colorado and Green river systems, and its layered cliffs reflect the region's sedimentary geology. Park...

White Butte is the highest natural point in North Dakota, reaching 3,506 feet above sea level in Slope County. It stands within the dissected grasslands and badland terrain of the state's southwest, and its pale sedimentary slopes contrast with the surrounding prairie. The summit is primarily visite...

Jail Rock is an erosional butte in Morrill County, Nebraska, located near Courthouse Rock in the North Platte River valley. The two formations served as prominent landmarks for nineteenth-century emigrants traveling west on the Oregon, California, and Mormon trails. Jail Rock is composed largely of...

Monster Tower is a prominent sandstone tower in the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park in southeastern Utah. It rises within a group of isolated desert towers that also includes Washer Woman, above canyons cut into the Colorado Plateau. The formation is known principally to clim...

A prehistoric archaeological site in western Nebraska, a stratified butte with evidence of successive human occupation spanning approximately 5,000 years.

A sandstone rock formation in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park named for its resemblance to a crowned monarch seated atop a throne, within the Navajo Nation.

Castle Rock is an isolated chalk formation in Gove County, western Kansas, shaped by erosion from deposits of the Cretaceous Niobrara Formation. Its tower-like profile made it a recognizable landmark on the Great Plains, although parts of the formation have collapsed through natural weathering. It i...

Signal Butte is a stratified archaeological site in Scotts Bluff County, western Nebraska, situated on a prominent landform overlooking the surrounding plains. Excavations identified multiple cultural layers representing separate periods of prehistoric occupation over several thousand years, making...

Castle Butte is an isolated erosional landform in the Big Muddy Badlands of southern Saskatchewan, Canada. Composed largely of bentonite clay and sandstone, it rises about 70 metres above the surrounding prairie and has a distinctive steep-sided profile shaped by erosion. It is a regional landmark f...

Thunder Butte is an isolated, flat-topped landform in Ziebach County, South Dakota, within the region of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. It rises prominently above the surrounding Great Plains and serves as a visible geographic landmark over a wide area. The butte has cultural and spiritual i...

Church Rock is a prominent sandstone formation in San Juan County in southeastern Utah. Its steep, rounded profile rises beside U.S. Route 191 near the junction with Utah State Route 211, making it a readily visible landmark for travelers approaching the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park...

Airport Tower is a sandstone tower in the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park in southeastern Utah. It rises from the canyon landscape near the Colorado River and is visible from several backcountry routes and viewpoints in the region. The formation is of particular interest to c...

Chimney Rock is a red sandstone formation near Sedona, Arizona, situated in the area's network of desert trails and prominent rock landmarks. Its narrow, upright profile gives the formation its name, while surrounding paths provide views of Chimney Rock, Thunder Mountain, and nearby red-rock terrain...

A sandstone formation in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park resembling a horse-drawn stagecoach, often photographed alongside the nearby Bear and Rabbit formation.

Two adjacent sandstone formations in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park whose combined profiles resemble a large bear and a small rabbit sitting side by side.

Slim Buttes is a narrow ridge of buttes in Harding County, South Dakota, site of the September 1876 Battle of Slim Buttes during the Great Sioux War.

A volcanic rock formation in Sierra County, New Mexico, that lends its name to Elephant Butte Reservoir, created by a dam on the Rio Grande completed in 1916.

Bullion Butte is a prominent isolated butte in Billings County, North Dakota, rising within the Little Missouri National Grassland near the badlands.

Crow Buttes are a cluster of isolated buttes in Harding County, South Dakota, near the Wyoming border in the remote northwestern Great Plains.

Volcanic butte pair in Baca County, southeastern Colorado, lending their name to the nearby community of Two Buttes and used as landmarks by travelers on the southern plains.

Sentinel Butte is a butte and small community in Golden Valley County, North Dakota, situated at the edge of the Little Missouri Badlands.