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1983 Map of Opal West SE

Name: 1983 Topographic Map of Opal West SE
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1984
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1984

About this map

Vig Ranch, situated in the rolling cattle country of western South Dakota, serves as a focal point for this rural landscape. The map details a remote region of Meade County where ranching life is supported by an intricate network of waterways, most notably Sulphur Creek and Horse Creek. A small Landing Field near the ranch indicates the necessity of aerial transport for navigating these wide-open spaces during the early 1980s.

Further south, the area around Upper Red Owl demonstrates the sparse but enduring settlement patterns of the plains. The terrain is defined by the drainage basins of Rock Creek, Pine Creek, and Elm Creek, which carve through the prairie. This 1983 provisional survey preserves the exact locations of family-held ranch lands and local airstrips before modern consolidation changed the rural South Dakota map.