Mist shrouds the distant Palouse Mountains (In Idaho) viewd from Steptoe Butte. Steptoe Butte stands tall above the Palouse in Washington State. Steptoe Butte is a quartzite island jutting up from sediment left by the ice age Missoula flood that formed the Palouse. Cow Parsnip and wild roses often flank bordering roads in spring.