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2020 Map of Cliffs Plateau

Name: 2020 Topographic Map of Cliffs Plateau
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2020
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2020

About this map

The Little Missouri River carves through the southwestern corner of this landscape, a region defined by the expansive Little Missouri National Grassland along the border of Slope and Billings counties. High terrain dominates the interior, with named features such as Kinley Plateau, Hanley Plateau, and the central Cliffs Plateau rising above a complex network of drainage systems. These washes and creeks, including Toms Wash, Whites Wash, and Dantz Cr, dictate the movement of local travel, as seen in the route of E River Rd and Third Creek Rd.

The Maah Daah Hey trail winds extensively through the broken terrain, providing a connective thread across the plateaus and through the grassland sections. This 2020 survey illustrates a sparsely settled portion of North Dakota where natural landmarks like Toms Butte serve as primary orientation points. The map details the intricate relationship between the elevated plateau surfaces and the deeply dissected drainages that feed into the larger river basin.