Steptoe Butte rises out of the Palouse like an island out of a green and gold sea, and that is exactly how the geologists describe it. The butte is a knob of quartzite, far older than anything around it, that poked up through the lava flows and wind-blown soil that buried the rest of the landscape. It stands about 1,100 metres above sea level, and from the top you look out over the rolling hills of the Palouse, a landscape of soft, curving ridges covered with wheat, peas and lentils. The word steptoe has entered the language of geology, meaning an island of older rock surrounded by younger lava.
The butte is named after Colonel Edward Steptoe, whose force of US Army soldiers was defeated by a coalition of Native American tribes near here in 1858. The battle was part of a wider conflict between settlers and the native peoples of the region, and it led to a larger military campaign later that year. Today the area is peaceful farmland, and the butte is a state park.
A narrow road spirals around the butte to the summit, with tight turns and steep gradients. It is a fun ride on a motorcycle, but the road is narrow and there are no guardrails, so take it slowly. At the top, there is a small parking area and a viewpoint, and in crisp autumn air the view runs over a hundred kilometres, as far as the Blue Mountains of Oregon and the mountains of Idaho. Photographers come here at sunrise and sunset, when the low light brings out the curves of the hills and the colours of the crops.
The Palouse hills were formed by wind-blown dust, called loess, that settled here over thousands of years. The soil is deep and fertile, and the region is one of the most productive wheat-growing areas in the world. The landscape changes with the seasons: green in spring, gold in summer, brown in autumn, and white in winter.
The butte itself is just a park with a view, but the small towns nearby have the basics. Colfax, about eighteen kilometres to the southwest, has fuel, food and lodging. Pullman, home to Washington State University, is about thirty-five kilometres to the south and has all services. The roads around the Palouse are quiet and scenic, with gentle curves through the rolling hills.