what has been called the smallest mountain range in the world, the Sutter Buttes is an anomalous volcanic landform rising starkly from the flat plain of the valley, a circular bump in the center of the bowl.

solidity

black soil crumbles beneath his fingertips
cattle graze the middle mountain

there are three seasons in the valley: the dry season, the rainy season, the wildflower season

no one is certain how the Sutter Buttes formed, one theory is that rising magmas uplifted Cretaceous and Tertiary sediments, which quickly eroded, leaving the volcanic rock. some have even suggested that it constitutes the southernmost volcano in the Cascade range, last erupting some 1.5 to 2.5 million years ago.

the slopes are green from the rains and bloom yellow with flowers