2011 Map of S H School

About this map

The Tongue River valley defines this section of Custer County, Montana, providing a perennial water source for a landscape dominated by seasonal drainage networks. In the early 21st century, the area's geography is structured around the river and its primary transit corridors, Moon Creek Rd and Tongue River Rd. These routes follow the natural topography, connecting remote ranchlands where numerous named creeks, such as Elk Creek, Ranch Creek, and Coon Creek, descend from the surrounding divides to the river basin. The map illustrates a traditional Western ranching environment where the availability of water at features like Pump Creek and Garden Creek has historically dictated land use and settlement patterns. Researchers of Eastern Montana's rural history can trace the intricate network of coulees and ridges that separate the Lay Creek and Kelsey Creek drainages, showing how the physical environment remained largely unaltered by modern development.