Week 6: Geological Interpretations - Sutter County

As I was exploring the massive, digital geologic map of California for interesting geologic complexities to visit next, there was one spot that seemed isolated from the rest of the busy map that caught my eye - Sutter Buttes in Sutter County:

Sutter Buttes is pictured in the middle, away from the rest of the geologic
activity surrounding it (via California Department of Conservation)

Overhead map of Sutter Buttes (via California Department of Conservation)

Some initial information indicate that the Sutter Buttes, which are located in the plains of the Sacramento Valley (part of the Great Valley of California), stretch as high as 2,123 ft and covers a circular area of about 10 miles. In addition, these buttes (which are essentially hills characterized with steep sides and a flat top) are called 'the smallest mountain range' in the world, which is a rather unique geologic title to hold.

In order to create an appropriate geologic interpretation of the Sutter Buttes, there are a few pieces of information and/or data that I would like to gather:

1. How old is the volcanic material that is layered in the central buttes, along with the sediment that surround the outskirts of the range, and what is this material made of? From the topographic and geologic maps above, the Sutter Buttes obviously appears as if it were a singular volcano, so the age of the remaining remnants would help identify whether these buttes are relatively recent or from some time before, as well as help characterize what kind of volcano and eruption occurred here.
   
2. How did this ancient eruption take place in the middle of a valley? This question would most likely benefit from expanding the scope of the geographic map that we're focused on, as there might be surrounding clues that indicate other geographical features, such as other nearby volcanic hotspot areas that the Sutter Buttes might have been part of.
   
3. A comprehensive map of both active and inactive faults that might run through the Great Valley of California. This could potentially provide the information needed to build a case of isolated or unique faulting that caused the volcanic activity in Sutter County.

This information would certainly help to try and explain how this rather unique mountain range came to be, especially in the middle of so much geologic activity that surrounds it on all sides in California.

Sutter Buttes from the Air (via Anthony Dunn)

References:
California Interactive Geographic Map. (n.d.). Retrieved from 

    https://maps.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/DataViewer/
Sutter Buttes. (n.d.). Retrieved from 

    https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=23452
Sutter Buttes. (2019, March 31). Retrieved from 

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutter_Buttes