2011 Map of Poverty Basin South

About this map

Poverty Basin dominates this section of Lake County, Oregon, revealing a landscape defined by water management and transit routes in the high desert. The map illustrates a network of critical water resources essential for life and livestock in an arid environment, including ZX Reservoir Number 1, Brattain Reservoir Number 11, and Brattain Reservoir Number 8. These basins and small reservoirs are connected by a sparse road system, most notably the Halfway Buttes Rd and the Old Burns Hwy. The placement of specific features like Knob Waterhole and Poverty Corners Waterhole suggests a land used primarily for ranching, where isolated water sources served as vital landmarks for those traveling through the basin. This USGS survey documents the exact positioning of these features at the start of the 2010s, providing a geographic record of the infrastructure supporting this remote territory.