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1951 Map of Clifton

Name: 1951 Topographic Map of Clifton
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1977
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1977

About this map

Clifton sits at the southwestern edge of the Black Hills in the early 1950s, serving as a quiet rail and ranching outpost on the border of Wyoming and South Dakota. The Chicago Burlington And Quincy railroad tracks run north to south through the area, following the drainage of Whoopup Creek. While the Clifton School (Aban'd) suggests a shift in the local population centers, the landscape remains defined by the rugged transition from the Elk Mountains down to the plains.

The eastern half of the map is dominated by the Black Hills National Forest, where steep terrain includes Wildcat Peak and high-altitude landmarks like the Elk Mountains Lookout Tower. Water is a critical resource in this arid environment, evidenced by the numerous named sources like Slate Spring, Dugout Spring, and Ferguson Spring that dot the deep incisions of Rock Canyon and Clifton Canyon. This survey captures the region when small-scale infrastructure like the Ditch and a few isolated outposts like Blaine Ranch represented the primary human imprint on the land.