1970 Map of Saddle Butte

About this map

Lake Sakakawea dominates the eastern landscape of this quadrangle, its waters held at an elevation of 1838 feet where the Missouri River has been transformed by mid-century engineering. The shoreline is characterized by complex inlets and fingers of water, including Saddle Butte Bay and Mckenzie Bay, which cut into the rising bluffs of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. On higher ground, the namesake Saddle Butte rises above the breaks, serving as a prominent topographical landmark in a region defined by the transition from prairie to reservoir. This 1970 field-checked survey reveals the area's dual nature as both a managed waterway and a conservation landscape, marked by the State Game Management Area in the northeast and the Saddle Butte Public Use Area along the southern shore. The boundary between McLean and Dunn counties follows the old river channel, now submerged beneath the lake.