1977 Map of Loving

About this map

Loving, Oklahoma, sits at the northern edge of this late 1970s orthophotoquad, where the Poteau River winds through the borderlands near Arkansas. The landscape is dominated by the long, wooded ridge of Walker Mountain, which cuts a distinct diagonal across the center of the sheet. This aerial survey, produced by the Geological Survey in cooperation with the Soil Conservation Service, reveals a rural economy organized around mountain topography and creek bottoms. Clearings for small-scale agriculture and timber are visible along the drainage of Jones Creek and Haw Creek. To the south, the terrain descends toward the Black Fork, showing the transition from the high ridges of the Ouachita region to the fertile, low-lying valleys. The photograph captures the density of forest cover and the precise pattern of land use at Puryear, providing a grounded view of the region's topography before modern development altered these traditional boundaries.