Loading map...

1961 Map of Lake Owen

Name: 1961 Topographic Map of Lake Owen
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1966
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1966

About this map

Centennial Valley occupies the western expanse of this survey, transitioning abruptly into the steep elevations of Sheep Mountain. In the early 1960s, the landscape was defined by the intersection of high-country agriculture and conservation, where the Medicine Bow National Forest and the Sheep Mountain Federal Game Refuge meet. The historic Buckeye Sch sits in the valley floor, a marker of the rural education network that served ranching families in the shadow of Iron Mtn.

Water management and transportation are central to the area's layout, with the Union Pacific railroad corridor cutting through the terrain. Significant water bodies like Lake Owen and the headwaters of the Little Laramie River feed numerous drainages such as Strain Creek and Hecht Creek. The inclusion of a Jeep Trail threading through Chokecherry Gulch suggests the rugged utility of the land during this period of Missouri River Basin development.