1972 Map of The Hole In The Ground

About this map

Owyhee River flows through a dramatic canyon landscape in Malheur County, carving deep features like the Owyhee Breaks and the winding Greeley Bar. This early 1970s survey captures a high-desert environment defined by essential water management for ranching and wildlife, evidenced by a dense network of small upland impoundments such as Wednesday Reservoir, Tuesday Reservoir, and Morcom Reservoir. The distinctive geological formation known as The Hole In The Ground sits north of the river, surrounded by rugged drainages like Black Canyon and Whiskey Canyon. Named landmarks such as Riley Horn Point and Deer Butte suggest local histories of land use and navigation in an area where jeep trails and isolated springs like Chalk Spring provided the only infrastructure through the sagebrush and rimrock.