1966 Map of Elk Basin

About this map

Energy production and the high plains of the Bighorn Basin dominate this 1966 survey, which straddles the Montana Wyoming border. The Elk Basin Oil Field and the South Elk Basin Oil Field are the defining industrial features, marked by a dense network of unimproved roads and pipelines that serve numerous wells and a prominent Sulphur Plant. This landscape of resource extraction is contrasted by the broad, flat expanse of Polecat Bench to the south, a geological formation that provides a natural site for the Powell Municipal Airport. Drainage patterns including Cottonwood Creek, Silver Creek, and Cottonwood Draw cut through the arid terrain, revealing the complex topography surrounding the basin's edges during a period of significant petroleum development in Carbon and Park Counties.