1965 Map of Mother Butte

About this map

Mother Butte rises as a prominent landmark in this section of Garfield County, anchoring a landscape defined by an intricate network of drainage coulees and ephemeral water bodies. In the mid-1960s, this area of Montana remained a sparsely developed territory where natural hydrology dictated the geography of the land. The presence of Old Lake, Mud Lake, and the small Cottonwood Tree Lakes in the southern portion suggests seasonal catchments vital for the regional livestock economy. A solitary Well near the eastern boundary further indicates the sparse but necessary infrastructure for ranching in this arid environment. The map details the convergence of various seasonal waterways, including Wildcat Creek and Little Dry Creek, which carve through the terrain. This document preserves the late-20th-century state of the Garfield County backcountry before modern land-use changes or further rural development.