2011 Map of White Butte NW

About this map

Plum Creek meanders through this portion of Stark County, defining the drainage of a landscape primarily organized by the rigid section-line grid of the Public Land Survey System. The map documents the rural infrastructure of the early 21st century, where a network of gravel and dirt roads like 46th St SW and 97th Ave SW divide the prairie into distinct square-mile parcels. This geometric layout reflects over a century of agricultural tradition in North Dakota, where transport routes are dictated more by property boundaries than topography. Small prairie potholes and seasonal water catchments are scattered across the terrain, illustrating the natural hydrology that persists alongside the established road network from 54th St SW in the south to the northern reaches of the quadrangle.