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1983 Map of Avance

Name: 1983 Topographic Map of Avance
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1984
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1984

About this map

Avance and Edson represent the primary points of human settlement in this high plains landscape of Meade County during the early 1980s. The terrain is defined by a dense network of seasonal drainages and watercourses that carve through the prairie, including Red Scaffold Creek in the north and the sprawling branches of Brushy Creek and Jimmy Creek to the south. The most prominent topographic landmark is Stony Butte, which rises above the confluence of Stony Butte Creek and several unnamed draws.

The landscape reflects a classic Western South Dakota ranching pattern, where roads follow the subtle ridges between creek beds. The map details the drainage patterns of West Branch Turtle Creek and Wolf Creek, illustrating how water shapes the geography of this rural expanse. This provisional survey captures the area just as modern aerial mapping techniques were being refined, preserving the locations of remote homesteads and crossroads that anchored this community.