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1987 Map of Rattlesnake

Name: 1987 Topographic Map of Rattlesnake
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1987
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1987

About this map

Cromley Bench and Putnam Bench define the high, flat plateaus of this Blaine County landscape, where the land falls away into a complex system of drainage coulees. This 1987 provisional survey shows a remote area primarily shaped by natural waterways like Rattlesnake Creek and Tin Cup Coulee, which cut deep impressions into the prairie. Evidence of small-scale resource extraction and infrastructure appears in the form of a Coal Mine tucked into a western coulee and a Pipeline traversing the southern sections.

Water management is central to the area's utility, anchored by the Suction Creek Reservoir in the southeast. A solitary Landing Strip on the high ground of the bench suggests the necessity of aerial access for ranching or industrial operations in this sparsely populated portion of Montana. The map provides a clear view of the transition between the flat upland benches and the winding creek beds of Cow Creek and Suction Creek.