text: Finally, the American West was compared to Mars when the "Face" was labeled as a butte or a mesa. The American West is sultry, gusty, and somewhat similar to what the environment on Mars is. This environment is the perfect environment to form buttes, due to erosion in the soil and the wind pushing the soil around. The landmass on Mars is not exactly a butte, however. This landmass is the Martian equivalent to what the American West has. "It reminds me most of Middle Butte in the Snake River Plain of Idaho. That's a lava dome that takes the form of an isolated mesa about the same height as the Face on Mars," says Garvin.