1975 Map of Belt NE

About this map

Big Willow Creek winds through the heart of this landscape in central Montana, serving as the primary drainage for the area's intricate system of coulees and ridges. This 1975 orthophotoquad provides an aerial perspective of the terrain just northeast of Belt, showing the sharp contrast between the deeply incised watercourses and the cultivated plateaus. In the northern reaches of the sheet, the headwaters of North Willow Creek emerge from the rugged breaks. The imagery captures the specific agricultural patterns of the mid-1970s, where rectilinear fields are etched into the higher ground above the sinuous, brush-lined creek beds. This visual record is particularly valuable for documenting ranching boundaries and land-use practices before later 20th-century developments altered the rural character of the Big Belt Mountains foothills.