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1892 Map of Abajo

Name: 1892 Topographic Map of Abajo
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1892
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1892

About this map

Bluff City sits as a lonely outpost along the San Juan River in this late nineteenth-century survey of southeastern Utah. The landscape is defined by the massive uplift of the Abajo Mts, where Mt Linnaeus and Abajo Peak dominate the northern horizon. To the west, the high plateau of Elk Ridge and the distinctive Orejas del Oso formations overlook a complex network of drainages, including Butler Wash and Cottonwood Wash, which flow south toward the river.

A fragment of the Old Spanish Trail is visible in the northeast corner, marking the historic path of commerce through this remote territory. The map also delineates the Navajo Indian Res. Line south of the river, while eastern drainages like Montezuma Creek and Mc Elmo Creek cut through the high desert. This 1892 edition captures the region when permanent non-indigenous settlement was sparse and concentrated near vital water sources.