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1996 Map of Big Ice Cave

Name: 1996 Topographic Map of Big Ice Cave
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1999
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1999

About this map

Big Ice Cave and its namesake limestone features anchor this mid-1990s survey of the high country along the border of Carbon and Big Horn counties. The landscape is defined by the massive uplift of Big Pryor Mountain, where subterranean features like Ice Cave contrast with the exposed topography of Island Ridge and Commissary Ridge. Land use here is a complex layering of federal and tribal jurisdictions, showing the shared boundary between the Crow Indian Reservation and the Custer National Forest.

Remote livestock operations such as Greenough Ranch and Schwend Ranch are linked by primitive 4wd tracks and rely on critical water sources like Trappers Cabin Spring and Roberts Spring. Numerous prospects scattered across the slopes of Tony Island and Harsten Flat point to a history of mineral exploration in these high Montana elevations, while geographic names like Mill Hollow and Tibbs Hollow preserve the identity of early settler families.