Gold Butte National Monument, Protected desert area in southeastern Nevada, United States

Gold Butte National Monument covers 296,937 acres of desert in Clark County, Nevada, between the Lake Mead National Recreation Area and the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument. Horizontally banded ridges of pale orange and tan rock rise from a broad stretch of water, and a low shoreline of light gray stones borders dry brush in the foreground. The monument holds rock art, sandstone formations and the remains of the Gold Butte ghost town.

President Barack Obama designated Gold Butte a national monument on December 28, 2016, under the Antiquities Act, after a two-year campaign by local conservation groups, Nevada and Clark County lawmakers and the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians. Clark County had already bought out and retired the area's grazing permits in 1998, so no cattle have grazed there since. The monument protects the ghost town of Gold Butte, where only mine openings, cement foundations and a few pieces of rusting equipment remain.

The monument holds rock art panels and the remains of rock shelters and hearths, agave roasting pits and projectile points left by Native peoples who have lived on this land for thousands of years. A 2016 report by Friends of Gold Butte documented petroglyphs peppered with bullet holes, and the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians backed the 2016 designation.

Visitors need a high-clearance vehicle to navigate the rougher interior roads, especially the most remote sections of the monument. Plan your visit during cooler months when desert heat is less intense.

Gold Butte fills the gap between Lake Mead National Recreation Area and Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument in Arizona, completing a continuous belt of protected land. The monument also holds two designated wilderness areas, Lime Canyon and Jumbo Springs, plus the Million Hills Wilderness Study Area and Virgin Peak Instant Study Area.