2020 Map of Melstone NW

About this map

N Willow Cr winds through the northwestern corner of this Musselshell County landscape, where the terrain is defined by a series of significant drainage features known locally as coulees. These topographical depressions, including Gremmert Coulee and Seventynine Coulee, reveal a complex watershed system that directs runoff across the high plains. The spatial arrangement of these features suggests a history of erosion and water management critical to the local cattle ranching and dryland farming economy of Montana. Navigation through this territory relies on a sparse network of county roads, such as Ragged Point Rd and N Melstone Rd, which follow the natural contours between the coulee breaks. Further south, Wilson Coulee and Butts Coulee mark the transition toward different township and range boundaries, illustrating the grid-based land partitioning common to the American West.