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1981 Map of Mackey Butte

Name: 1981 Topographic Map of Mackey Butte
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1981
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1981

About this map

Ochoco National Forest dominates the eastern half of this high-altitude landscape, where the border between Crook and Harney counties cuts through the timber and rimrock. The terrain is defined by dramatic elevations like Mackey Butte and Saddle Butte, separated by deep drainage systems including Long Hollow and Norcross Creek. This region, surveyed in the late 1970s, reveals a specialized high-desert ranching economy centered on water management.

A network of small-scale impoundments such as Freezeout, Roadside Reservoir, and Gravelly Flat Reservoir are strategically placed across the ridges and meadows to support local operations like Melhorn Ranch. The distribution of these reservoirs alongside numerous named springs and seeps suggests a landscape carefully adapted for livestock grazing. Notable landmarks like Morris Meadows and Gravelly Flat provide breaks in the complex topography of Bradford Ridge and Freezeout Ridge, offering clear evidence of how land use followed the natural contours of the Oregon interior.