1981 Map of Lance Creek NW

About this map

Lightning Creek meanders across this High Plains landscape in Niobrara County, carving a distinctive riparian corridor through the dry Wyoming terrain. Surveyed in the mid-1970s and edited in 1981, the map documents a territory defined by resource extraction and cattle ranching. The presence of numerous Drill Holes and an Oil Well scattered across the township and range sections illustrates the energy exploration footprint of the era. The drainage network is further defined by Cow Creek in the north and the deep incision of Twentymile Gulch in the southwest, showing how water availability dictated land use in this semi-arid region. These features, along with extensive fence lines, reflect a landscape structured by both geology and the practicalities of western rangeland management.