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1954 Map of Rice Reservoir

Name: 1954 Topographic Map of Rice Reservoir
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1955
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1955

About this map

Rice Reservoir and Birkeland Reservoir anchor the landscape of this Chouteau County ranching and water-management district during the mid-1950s. The map illustrates a high-plains terrain defined by the dendritic drainage patterns of Cherry Coulee, Long Coulee, and Short Coulee, which cut through the northern half of the survey area. These coulees represent the critical natural irrigation and drainage systems that shaped the development of the Missouri River Basin.

The infrastructure on this sheet reflects the mid-century program for the development of the region's water resources. Beyond the primary reservoirs, localized water sources such as a named Spring and specific geodetic markers like VABM 3260 Cherry highlight the precision of the mapping efforts conducted by the Department of the Interior to manage this arid environment. The spatial distribution of these features reveals the intentional design of the land for agricultural sustainability.