Loading map...

1993 Map of Shell

Name: 1993 Topographic Map of Shell
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1997
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1997

About this map

The settlement of Shell serves as the focal point for this landscape where the high desert meets the Bighorn National Forest. In the early 1990s, the rural economy of Big Horn County is defined by a complex network of water management, including the Whaley Ditch, Kershner Ditch, and the Thirteenth Canal, which divert water from Shell Creek to support local ranching.

Genealogists will find significant local landmarks such as Whaley Cem and Shell Cem, alongside family-named locations like Flitners Corner, Reeves Corner, and the Elkhorn Ranch. The terrain is marked by the deep erosions of Red Gulch and Douglas Draw, while the Scenic High Line provides a primary route through the foothills. This survey offers a precise record of late-20th-century land use before modernization altered the traditional ranching boundaries of the region.