Loading map...

1988 Map of Sparta Butte

Name: 1988 Topographic Map of Sparta Butte
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1988
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1988

About this map

Sparta Butte stands as a prominent landmark in this eastern Oregon landscape, which is largely defined by the drainage networks of Eagle Creek and its many tributaries. Surveyed in the late 1980s, the area reflects a history of small-scale resource extraction and livestock management within the Whitman National Forest. Scattered mining activity is evident through features like the Amalgamated Mine and various unnamed prospects and mines tucked into the drainages of Tackle Gulch and Town Gulch.

The map reveals a complex system of spring-fed water sources, including Torchlight Spring, Holcomb Spring, and Fizz Spring, which supported high-elevation grazing in places like Forshey Meadow. The network of gulches—bearing colorful names such as Six Dollar Gulch and Empire Gulch—implies a rugged frontier economy where water rights and mineral claims dictated the pattern of human presence across the high timber and canyon lands.