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1997 Map of Pawnee Buttes

Name: 1997 Topographic Map of Pawnee Buttes
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2000
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2000

About this map

Pawnee National Grassland dominates this high plains landscape in Weld County, Colorado, where the prominent twin landforms of the Pawnee Buttes rise above the surrounding prairie. This 1997 revision by the Forest Service captures an arid region defined by its vital water sources and energy extraction. A network of springs, including Demoss Spring, Reisburg Spring, and Elizabeth Spring, suggests the locations of essential water stops in an otherwise dry environment.

Evidence of the cattle and energy industries is scattered throughout the township lines, from the Buttes Windmill and Durbin Windmill to numerous Oil Wells and Oil Tanks. The drainage patterns of North Pawnee Creek and Igo Creek carve through the terrain, illustrating the natural geography that dictated the placement of ranching infrastructure and early resource exploration in this corner of the Colorado plains.