1981 Map of Rams Butte

About this map

Jew Valley dominates the central portion of this high-desert landscape in Lake County, where water management is the primary signature on the land. The topography is defined by the volcanic rise of Rams Butte in the south and the sharp basaltic edge of the Black Rim to the west. Evidence of ranching and livestock operations is found in the scattered water sources vital to this arid region, including Currie Waterhole, Eades Well, and the Sand Hollow drainage. These features, along with artificial catchments like Burnt Lake Reservoir and Rams Butte Reservoir, illustrate the human effort to sustain use of this remote terrain. The map captures a transition point between broad flat basins and the uplifted buttes that characterize the Oregon high desert in the late twentieth century.