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2024 Map of Buttermilk Canyon

Name: 2024 Topographic Map of Buttermilk Canyon
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2024
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2024

About this map

Hale Ridge dominates the northern portion of this map, serving as a prominent landform in a landscape defined by an intricate network of deep canyons and drainages. The terrain here represents the high plateau country where Morrow County and Gilliam County meet. A series of watercourses, including the Middle Fork Rock Creek and Juniper Creek, carve through the region, illustrating the complex natural irrigation and erosion patterns typical of this part of Oregon.

The presence of numerous named canyons like Sweetmilk Canyon and Buttermilk Canyon indicates a history of localized land naming, likely by early ranchers or homesteaders who navigated these breaks. Transportation in this area is primarily restricted to ridge-top routes such as Hale Ridge Rd and Hardman Ridge Rd, which follow the natural contours of the land to avoid the steep descents into the creek beds below.