2011 Map of Castle Creek

About this map

John Day River flows through this corner of Grant County, serving as the central geographic feature for a landscape defined by ranching and historical mining activity. A series of family-named ranching outposts, including H Ricco Ranch, Kuhl Ranch, and the neighboring Holiday Ranch and Holliday Ranch, line the river and its tributaries. These settlements are linked by a network of rural routes such as the Indian Creek Rd and Keeney Forks Rd. The topography is marked by notable heights like Hall Hill and Red Hill, while the John Day River Dam indicates early 21st-century water management. In the southwest, Prairie Diggings points to the area's prospecting history near the drainage of Dissel Creek. This map captures a rural Oregon environment where names like Butch Foster Saddle and Oliver Rock preserve local family histories in the physical landscape.