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1948 Map of Medicine Lake

Name: 1948 Topographic Map of Medicine Lake
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1976
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1976

About this map

Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge dominates this northeastern Montana landscape, where the waters of Medicine Lake provide a stark contrast to the surrounding sectioned plains. The map illustrates a coordinated effort between the Bureau of Reclamation and the Geological Survey to document this critical conservation area in the late 1940s. Shoreline features such as Bruces Island, Youngs Island, and Gull Island are clearly delineated, alongside specialized management infrastructure like the Refuge Headquarters, a Lookout Tower, and the extensive Refuge Patrol Trail.

Social life on the prairie is marked by the town of Medicine Lake in the northwest, supported by rural institutions including the Medicine Lake Cem, Homestead Cem, and the Zich Sch near the southern boundary. The topography reveals a transition across the Sheridan Co and Roosevelt Co line, with McCabe Creek winding through the southern sections. This survey preserves a specific moment when federal land management and local agriculture coexisted at the edge of the Missouri Coteau.