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1959 Map of Butte North

Name: 1959 Topographic Map of Butte North
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1961
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1961

About this map

Industrial mining operations dominate the southern portion of this landscape, centered on the massive Berkeley Pit and the bustling city of Butte. The map captures the complex urban and industrial geography of the late 1950s, showing the dense residential clusters of Walkerville, Centerville, and Meaderville perched on the hillsides above the mines. A sophisticated transportation network of the Butte Anaconda and Pacific, Northern Pacific, and Chicago Milwaukee St Paul and Pacific railroads connects the various mining districts and nearby settlements like Ramsay and Silver Bow.

Beyond the industrial center, the terrain ascends into the Deer Lodge National Forest, where the Continental Divide weaves through prominent peaks such as Orofino Mountain and Cottonwood Mountain. This transition from the heavily engineered landscape of the mining pits to the remote drainage basins of Browns Gulch and Cottonwood Creek illustrates the stark contrast between Montana's extraction-based economy and its protected wilderness areas.