Loading map...

2017 Map of Orchard Bench

Name: 2017 Topographic Map of Orchard Bench
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2017
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2017

About this map

Basin occupies the northern edge of this high-desert landscape, where the street grid of the county seat transitions into the expansive agricultural and grazing lands of the Bighorn River valley. The town layout is clearly defined by central thoroughfares like Big Horn Ave and Center St, serving as a gateway to the arid plateaus and draws to the south. The dominant geographical feature is the elevated plateau of Orchard Bench, which overlooks the river valley and is marked by an extensive network of county lanes and irrigation infrastructure.

Water management is central to this Big Horn County terrain, evidenced by the prominent Big Horn Canal winding through the eastern portion of the map. This man-made waterway skirts the breaks leading down from East Basin Draw, supporting life in an otherwise thirsty landscape drained by intermittent channels like Antelope Cr and Elk Cr. To the south, the terrain becomes more broken near Dobie Butte, where the drainages of S Fork Elk Cr and Dobie Cr carve through the sedimentary layers of the basin.