1981 Map of Elk City

About this map

Elk City and the historic gold-bearing districts of Idaho County are documented here during a period of modern geologic survey in the early 1980s. The landscape is defined by the complex drainages of the South Fork Clearwater River and the Salmon River, which carved deep corridors through the Nez Perce and Bitterroot National Forests. This map is particularly significant for its dense concentration of mining claims, reflecting a century of mineral extraction. Large-scale operations and smaller prospects like the Mother Lode Mine, Golden Hand Mine, and Orogrande-Frisco Mine appear alongside established mountain outposts like Orogrande and Golden. The inclusion of high-elevation points such as Buffalo Hump and Gospel Peak illustrates the challenging geography that early miners and foresters navigated to reach remote lodes and timber stands.