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2020 Map of Buttermilk Canyon

Name: 2020 Topographic Map of Buttermilk Canyon
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2020
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2020

About this map

Hale Ridge and the surrounding high country of the Oregon plateau define this landscape along the border of Gilliam and Morrow Counties. The area is characterized by an intricate network of drainages including Eightmile Canyon, Buttermilk Canyon, and Lundell Canyon, which carve through the volcanic geology toward larger water bodies like Rock Creek. This 2020 survey illustrates a sparsely populated region where infrastructure is largely defined by access roads for ranching and land management, such as Hale Ridge Rd and Buttermilk Canyon Rd.

Several family-named landmarks suggest a history of high-desert homesteading and land use, including Harshman Canyon, Bennett Canyon, and Huston Canyon. The terrain transitions from higher elevations near Rood Hill down into several deep incisions such as Long Hollow. These topographic patterns reveal how historical settlement and contemporary cattle grazing have adapted to the water availability provided by the Middle Fork Rock Creek and Juniper Creek.