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1965 Map of Chain Buttes

Name: 1965 Topographic Map of Chain Buttes
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1969
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1969

About this map

The Missouri River cuts a wide path across this central Montana landscape, where the waters are held back by the Fort Peck Reservoir. This mid-1960s survey illustrates a region defined by high-elevation plateaus and deeply eroded drainages, much of which is protected within the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Range. The topography transitions from the reservoir's normal pool elevation of 2,246 feet up to the prominent Chain Buttes in the south, a terrain of complex ridges and breaks.

Evidence of ranching and early homesteading appears through scattered family-named locations such as Beauchamp, Hawley, and Weingart. The map details a network of intermittent watercourses including Beauchamp Creek, Carpenter Coulee, and Soda Creek. Water management for livestock is indicated by features like the Headman-Field Reservoir, while the presence of the Phillips Co Petroleum Co boundary line points to the intersection of land conservation and resource interests during this era.