1973 Map of West Fork NE

About this map

The Fort Peck Indian Reservation Boundary runs along the southern edge of this Montana landscape, where the West Fork Poplar River meanders through a network of deeply eroded coulees and drainages. Mapping from the early 1970s reveals a sparse, high-plains terrain defined more by hydrology and legal boundaries than by human settlement. Small-scale resource extraction is noted by a solitary Gravel Pit in the northern reaches, while the survival of livestock in this arid environment is marked by scattered sources such as Spring and Well. The southern portion of the sheet is dominated by the namesake drainage of Hell Creek and the long, winding Shipstead Coulee, illustrating the intricate topographical dissection of the prairie before it meets the reservation line.