When grown via chemical vapor deposition carbon nanotubes (CNTs) may take on the form of a "turf", consisting of many CNTs with a complex interconnectedness attached to an inflexible substrate. These turfs can be formed over large areas and with a range of heights (between 1 to 100 µm), and grown on photolithographically patterned catalysts to form different aspect ratios. This study focuses on the indentation and permanent deformation of CNT assemblages under applied contact loading. Nanoindentation was conducted on CNT turfs and the properties, nominally the turf's elastic modulus and hardness, were 14.9 MPa ± 5.7 MPa and 2 MPa respectively. The onset of permanent deformation during indentation occurred at applied stresses of 2.5 MPa. The turf's collective permanent deformation under applied compressive loading was also studied. A model predicting the buckling stress of CNT turfs is also described.