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1974 Map of Burnt Fork Lake

Name: 1974 Topographic Map of Burnt Fork Lake
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1977
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1977

About this map

The Bitterroot National Forest and Deerlodge National Forest dominate this high-altitude landscape along the Granite and Ravalli County line. Surveyed in the mid-1970s, the map documents a transition from the drainage of the Burnt Fork Bitterroot River in the west to the headwaters of Little Stony Creek in the east. Notable peaks such as Palisade Mountain and Dome Shaped Mountain frame a network of glacial basins and alpine waters, including the namesake Burnt Fork Lake and the remote Kneaves Lake.

The hydrography of the region is particularly detailed, tracing the descent of the Little Burnt Fork through the Little Burnt Fork Lakes and highlighting the dramatic drop at Skalkaho Falls. This terrain is accessible primarily via a system of Pack Trails, underscoring the wilderness character of the Sapphire Mountains before modern development or expanded timber harvesting altered these drainage patterns.