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1965 Map of Darby Buttes

Name: 1965 Topographic Map of Darby Buttes
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1968
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1968

About this map

Darby Buttes rise above the high plains of Garfield County in this mid-1960s topographic study. The landscape is defined by the drainage patterns of Sand Creek and Long Branch Creek, with the deep cut of Southerland Coulee carving through the northwestern corner. The mapping detail highlights a sparsely settled ranching landscape, where scattered improvements and fine red dashed fence lines provide evidence of land management in this cattle-country terrain.

Evidence of local community life appears at the Freedom Sch, while the presence of the small settlement of Leif and labels like Santo Arroyo suggest the varied cultural and geographic influences on the region. The map captures the area just before the widespread modernization of rural infrastructure, recording a network of unimproved dirt roads that connected these isolated outposts of the Montana interior.