1968 Map of Poison Springs

About this map

Poison Springs and the surrounding high-country drainages of Harney County are documented here during a 1968 field survey. The landscape is defined by its seasonal water sources and steep canyons, with the drainage of Kiger Creek and Little Kiger Creek cutting prominently through the western portion of the sheet. To the north, The Lambing Ground suggests the seasonal livestock movements once common in this part of Oregon, supported by water features like Wood Camp Reservoir and Shepherd Spring. A network of unnamed jeep trails provides the only infrastructure across these elevations, connecting remote points such as Waterhole Spring in the south to Swamp Creek in the north. This map captures the functional geography of the range before modern development, showing the specific locations of numerous high-elevation Springs and named creeks like Smyth Creek and Mahan Creek that sustained early ranching and transit through the territory.