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1971 Map of Whitetail Creek

Name: 1971 Topographic Map of Whitetail Creek
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1974
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1974

About this map

Bishop Ranch Oil Field and the Dillinger Ranch Oil Field define the industrial footprint of this Campbell County landscape in the early 1970s. The terrain is dominated by the winding course of the Belle Fourche River, which is fed by numerous drainages including Whitetail Creek, Little Piney Creek, and Yellow Hammer Creek. Significant topographical features like the Yellow Hammer Buttes and Cabin Canyon provide a backdrop to a network of resource extraction points, indicated by several scattered oil wells and drill holes.

Transportation across the rangeland relies on Bishop Road and various unnamed paths, while the Cabin Canyon Reservoir marks a localized water management point. This survey, conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Forest Service, captures a moment when traditional ranching land was increasingly shared with petroleum exploration, evidenced by the numerous drill holes and the extensive Jeep Trail network mapped throughout the area.