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1991 Map of Smiley Mountain

Name: 1991 Topographic Map of Smiley Mountain
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1991
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1991

About this map

Smiley Mountain dominates this high-altitude landscape along the border of Blaine and Custer counties. The area is defined by a dense concentration of glacial cirque lakes, including Golden Lake, Big Lake, Rough Lake, and Long Lake tucked beneath the northern ridges, while Fishpole Lake and Iron Bog Lake sit further south. This high wilderness environment, shared by the Challis National Forest and Sawtooth National Forest, shows evidence of intermittent human activity through several prospect sites and an adit located near Iron Bog Creek.

Transportation through these drainages is limited to primitive routes like Iron Bog Road, which provides access toward Smiley Meadows. Drainage patterns are complex, with the headwaters of the Left Fork, Middle Fork, and Right Fork of Bear Creek carving deep basins like Anderson Canyon and Muldoon Canyon. The mapping reflects a late 20th-century preservation of this backcountry, where industrial traces like a small campground and mining markers are secondary to the natural hydrology and terrain.