1973 Map of Circular Butte 3 NE

About this map

The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory dominates this high desert landscape as it appeared in the early 1970s. This restricted area in Butte County is defined by a sparse network of service roads, including Lincoln Boulevard and several Jeep Trails, crossing a terrain characterized by volcanic depressions. The Big Lost River cuts through the western portion of the sheet, though the drainage here is largely intermittent, disappearing into the porous ground. Several Borrow Pits and Borrow Pit sites are scattered along the roadway, indicating the ongoing material needs for building and maintaining the infrastructure of this sensitive government site. This survey provides a precise record of the laboratory's perimeter and the surrounding open rangeland just before the mid-1970s.