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1957 Map of Choteau

Name: 1957 Topographic Map of Choteau
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1957
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1957

About this map

The Continental Divide serves as the spine of this mid-1950s landscape, splitting the drainage between the rugged Sawtooth Range and the high peaks of the Lewis And Clark Range. To the east, the mountain front drops sharply into the plains toward Choteau, where the Teton River and a network of irrigation works like the Bynum Reservoir and Pishkun Reservoir support the agricultural settlements of Bynum and Augusta. This era shows the vital rail connections of the Great Northern and the Chicago Milwaukee St Paul and Pacific serving the eastern foothills.

West of the divide, the terrain shifts into the heavily forested basins of the Flathead National Forest and Lolo National Forest. Remote settlements such as Seeley Lake, Ovando, and Helmville are connected by early versions of Highway 20 and 21. The map captures a landscape defined by water and altitude, from the deep waters of Lindbergh Lake and Big Salmon Lake to prominent landmarks like Haystack Butte and Steamboat Mountain.