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1951 Map of Sheets Flat

Name: 1951 Topographic Map of Sheets Flat
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1977
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1977

About this map

The Greybull River carves a fertile valley floor through this high-plains landscape, where mid-century irrigation efforts are documented in the network of the Rankin Ditch, Keystone Ditch, and Jimmerfield Ditch. While the uplands are dominated by the broad Y U Bench and Tatman Mountain, the valley bottom supports the Y U Ranch and the local Sheets Flat School.

Evidence of shifting agricultural patterns is found in the Old House Ditch (Aban'd), showing where earlier water management had been superseded by 1951. Transport through the canyon depends on the Burlington-Meeteetse Road, while many smaller gulches like Sleeper Gulch and Mackey Gulch drain the surrounding heights into the river system. This survey provides a look at the infrastructure required to sustain ranching in the Sheets Flat area during the early postwar period.