2012 Map of Porcupine Creek

About this map

The Oregon Trail Lander Cutoff defines the historical geography of this Lincoln County landscape, tracing a route across the northern portion of the quadrangle. This path, a vital branch of the emigrant trail, intersects with Smiths Fork Rd near the headwaters of numerous drainages. The area is characterized by a dense network of watercourses, including the various branches of the Smiths Fork, such as the Dry Fork Smiths Fork and W Fork Smiths Fork, which drain the high country around Porcupine Ridge. This 2012 survey illustrates a terrain of significant elevation change, from the basin of Crystal Lake to the prominent Buckskin Knoll in the northeast. The presence of named features like Bull Gulch and Trespass Cr reflects a naming tradition tied to early exploration and livestock movement in the Wyoming high desert and mountain transition zone.