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1965 Map of Whitcomb Lake

Name: 1965 Topographic Map of Whitcomb Lake
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1969
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1969

About this map

The Cotter Ranch serves as a primary marker of human settlement in this high plains landscape of Phillips County, Montana. Photographed and field checked in the mid-1960s, the terrain is defined by complex drainage systems and semi-arid topography, most notably the broad depression known as The Big Sag. This geological feature separates the northern coulees from the southern creek beds, illustrating the characteristic erosion patterns of the Missouri River Basin development area.

Water management is central to the local geography, visible in the First Creek Reservoir and the namesake Whitcomb Lake. The map details a network of seasonal and perennial waterways including Flat Creek, North Fork Sheep Coulee, and South Fork Sheep Coulee. These features, along with the fine dashed lines representing property fences, reveal how the land was organized for ranching and water conservation during this era.