Loading map...

1953 Map of Cougar

Name: 1953 Topographic Map of Cougar
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1975
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1975

About this map

Gifford Pinchot National Forest dominates this mid-century survey, revealing a landscape defined by timber management and hydroelectric potential prior to the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. The southern reaches of the map show the industrial and administrative footprint of the era, including a Sawmill and Fish Hatchery near the Cowlitz and Clark County boundary, and the North Fork Ranger Sta, which is already noted as abandoned by 1953.

Remote outposts like Herrington Place and the Kalama Ranger Station sit alongside natural landmarks such as Merrill Lake and Kalama Falls. The map documents a network of primitive transportation, from the Coldspring Trail to various unnamed jeep trails, weaving through the drainage basins of the South Fork Toutle River and Kalama River. These details provide a critical view of the regional topography and land use before catastrophic geological events altered the river courses.