2014 Map of Thelan

About this map

Thelan and Ekre anchor this western North Dakota landscape in Golden Valley County, where a grid of rural section roads divides the terrain between the Badlands and the prairie. The topography is defined by prominent elevations like Rocky Butte and Five Point Butte, which rise above a network of seasonal drainages including Garner Cr and Little Beaver Cr. The map details the late-period development of this ranching and farming corridor along ND-16, showing a land still largely organized by the original township-and-range survey system. Researchers will find the placement of individual farmsteads and the precise course of the N Fork Garner Cr useful for understanding local land use and hydrology. The relationship between the flat sections and the isolated landforms like Lone Butte illustrates the characteristic breaks of the Missouri Plateau.