Butte County County
Established February 6, 1917 with its county seat at Arco. It was named for the buttes that rise from the Snake River plain and served as landmarks to trappers and pioneers who traveled through the area. The first white men in the region were through to be Donald MacKenzie and his Northwest Fur Companny trappers in 1818.
Mapped Location
Butte County: The mapped location is an approximation and should not be used for navigation or wayfinding.
Information
General information on Butte County
- Feature Type: County
- County Seat: City of Arco
- Established: Tuesday, February 6, 1917
Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for Butte County
A brief list of names that this geographic feature has been named
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Butte County | Official |
Origin Notes and History of Butte County
References to Butte County that document the origin of its place name
BUTTES TRIOS, Butte County.—These are three conspicuous elevations of volcanic cones situated on the Snake River plains (q.v.) and can be seen a great many miles away and have always been familiar objects for parties passing that way. In 1825, the French Canadian trappers of Peter Skene Ogden's command called them the "buttes," which in French means "knolls." "Trios" is the French word for "three." Big Butte was held in awe by the Indians, and was called by them "Pee-ah," meaning "large," and "Car-did," "stay," referring to its permanency and to that feeling of safety which the sight of it gave to any one drifting or perhaps lost in the ever sameness of the trackless Snake River plains and desert.
BUTTE.—Named for the Buttes (q.v.). The county seat is Arco, named by the first settlers for a small town in Tyrol, Austria.
Butte County
- Antelope (historical)
- City of Arco
- Berenice
- City of Butte City
- Clyde
- Darlington
- Era
- Howe
- Lost River
- Martin
- City of Moore
- Scoville
- Smith Corrals
- Sweet Sage (historical)
Political Boundaries
Last updated: 2016-11-27