Loading map...

2017 Map of Sand Buttes

Name: 2017 Topographic Map of Sand Buttes
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2017
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2017

About this map

Sand Buttes dominate this portion of Rosebud County, where the high plains of Montana are carved by a complex network of ephemeral drainage systems and man-made water catchments. The landscape is defined by the hydrologic patterns of Sand Butte Coulee and Fisherman Dan Coulee, which feed into larger water bodies like the Fisherman Dan Reservoir. These features, alongside the Barley Reservoirs to the south, indicate a land use heavily centered on livestock management and water conservation in an arid environment.

Remote and sparsely populated, the region's topography is marked by the meandering paths of Coal Cr and the North Fork Sand Creek. The primary corridor through this high-country terrain is Sand Creek Road, which traces the lower valley floor near Sand Creek. This map illustrates the intersection of natural erosion patterns and late 20th-century ranching infrastructure within the survey boundaries of T8N R43E and T8N R44E.