1979 Map of Coonskin Butte

About this map

Coonskin Butte rises above the high-altitude volcanic plateau of the Inside Desert in southern Owyhee County, defining a landscape shaped by intermittent water and livestock ranching. This 1979 survey records a network of artificial improvements designed to sustain life in an arid environment, including Aikers Reservoir, McGregor Reservoir, and several scattered structures labeled simply as Water Tank. The mapping of Aikers Field and the eponymous Aikers Draw suggests the historical footprint of a specific ranching family or early claimant in this remote corridor. Transportation through the sagebrush and canyon-cut terrain is limited to unimproved roads and the Malat Trail, which crosses the western portion of the sheet. To the southwest, the land drops away into the deep incision of the Canyon where the East Fork Bruneau River flows, a sharp contrast to the broad expanses of Buck Flat Draw.