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1984 Map of Turpin Knoll

Name: 1984 Topographic Map of Turpin Knoll
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1984
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1984

About this map

The high desert landscape of Harney County is defined by its seasonal water management and isolated cattle camps in this 1980s-era survey. Named for the prominent Turpin Knoll, the area shows a heavy reliance on human-engineered water sources, with scattered landmarks like the McCarty Cabin (Site) and Kiely Camp serving as focal points for local activity. The terrain is a network of drainages and reservoirs, where the floor of Dry Valley meets complex relief features such as Rehart Rim and Packsaddle Draw.

Water storage is essential to the region, evident in the numerous stock ponds and reservoirs like Jacks Reservoir, Shale Reservoir, and the curiously named Large Lake. Genealogists and historians can trace the movement of early ranchers through family-named features like McCarty Lake or the S and L Waterhole. These provisional mappings capture the high-country landscape at a time when 4WD tracks were the primary means of navigating the draws and rims of the Oregon interior.