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1973 Map of Buchanan

Name: 1973 Topographic Map of Buchanan
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1977
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1977

About this map

Malheur National Forest lands dominate the northern reaches of this high-desert landscape, where scattered homesteads and water improvements define the human footprint. The settlement of Buchanan sits in the southeast, while the Mary Oard Homestead and Poujade Ranch represent the enduring ranching legacy of Harney County. The topography is marked by a sophisticated system of water management in a semi-arid climate, featuring numerous engineered catchments such as Corcoran Res, Lower Jones Canyon Res, and Cow Creek Road Reservoir.

Surface water is primarily ephemeral, moving through drainages like East Canyon and Rock Creek, or emerging at named points such as Longan Springs and Jake Green Spring. Evidence of early settlement and land use is visible in features like the Long Cabin near Cabin Spring and the open expanse of Oard Flat. This survey provides a precise record of the fencelines, fields, and jeep trails that connected these isolated outposts in the early 1970s.