1960 Map of Wall SW

About this map

The sharp escarpments of the Badlands National Monument dominate this landscape, revealing a stark contrast between high plateaus and the low-lying Conata Basin. Surveyed in the mid-20th century as part of the Missouri River Basin development program, the map illustrates the geological transitions through the Sage Creek Wilderness Area. To the north, The Pinnacles provide a jagged skyline near Dillon Pass, a natural gateway through the wall. Human presence is sparse, centered on the Dillon Campground, while the rest of the terrain is defined by isolated landmarks like Flat Top Butte and Castle Butte. This 1960 survey, photoinspected later in the 1970s, documents the area before significant changes in infrastructure, preserving the look of this South Dakota wilderness at mid-century.