Aerial Photo of Thunder Butte

USGS Satellite Photo of Thunder Butte (Click to Enlarge)

This is a satellite photo of Thunder Butte taken by a U.S. Geological Survey satellite on October 18, 1996. There is a small dam with water backed up behind it northwest of the butte. The dam and water were not present during the 1920s and 1930s, when the Crowleys homesteaded near the butte. In fact, the 1930s were very dry years, and it was difficult for many people to make a living in the western plains of South Dakota. Many people who had settled in this country when Cheyenne River Sioux tribal lands were opened up to homesteaders subsequently left for "greener" pastures.

--Mike Crowley