Just outside Missoula—the setting of Norman Maclean’s A River Runs Through It—Garnet is Montana’s best-preserved ghost town. This mining community dissipated by 1912 and is now managed by the BLM, who offers guided tours of the old hotels, drug stores, and saloons.

The Rio Grande—pictured here in northern New Mexico—is an iconic American landscape. The 1,900-mile-long river flows out of the Colorado Rockies and empties into the Gulf of Mexico, and its gorge descends to depths of 800 feet.

Sunset at the Juniper Dunes Wilderness, in Washington. The area is harried by high winds and hot summers, and not easily accessible except via old Jeep trails. But wildlife is abundant, and the gnarled juniper trees and 130-foot sand dunes make for some truly unique backcountry roaming.

These 35 photographs, from the the Bureau of Land Management’s archives, document the fauna, flora, mountains, sunsets, and the star-dusted skies of the American wilderness. The images illuminate the staggering vastness of the U.S. Deserts, mesas, and mesquite render the Southwest as an entirely different world than the lush Oregon coast. Likewise, Montana and Wyoming’s sagebrush-dotted plains and snowy mountains are distinct yet tantamount in beauty to the golden seas of the Great Plains and the brick-red spires of Utah. Collectively, however, the photographs convey a singular theme: the opportunity to explore uncharted territory is available to any American who wants to escape the grind, get outside, and behold the country’s wonders—one of the truest American experiences of all.

Created in 1946 by President Truman, BLM oversees more than 250 million acres of public land, chiefly in the American West. As a division of the Department of the Interior, it focuses on sustaining the wildlife, and the environmental and cultural value of the properties it manages. These lands are an important part of our nation’s sporting heritage and remain an essential resource for many hunters, anglers, and outdoorsmen.

Photographs 2-4, 10, 12, 17, 20-22, 24, 28, and 31-34 courtesy of BLM, Flickr

Photographs 1, 5, 8-9, 11, 13-15,18, 19, 23, 25, 27, 29-30, and 35 courtesy of Bob Wick, BLM, Flickr

Photograph 7 courtesy of Patrick Alexander, BLM, Flickr

Photograph 16 courtesy of Tyler Roemer, BLM, Flickr

Photograph 26 courtesy of Stephen Baker, BLM, Flickr