1979 Map of The Basin

About this map

The Basin dominates this landscape in Malheur County, where the high desert terrain is defined by its seasonal water sources and expansive plateaus. Surveyed in the 1970s, this map captures a remote corner of eastern Oregon where survival and land use were centered on scattered improvements like Smiths Well and Winter Range Well. The drainage patterns of Dry Creek and Rattlesnake Creek reveal the natural flow of the land toward the southern Red Hills. Transportation through this territory is limited to a primitive Jeep Trail, illustrating the isolation of this ranching or grazing country during the late twentieth century. This sheet is particularly useful for those studying the history of land management and water rights in one of Oregon's most sparsely populated regions.