1969 Map of Alpine Ranch

About this map

Alpine Ranch and the tiny outpost of Perry define the human footprint on this high plains landscape at the end of the 1960s. Located along the boundary of Kit Carson and Cheyenne Counties, the terrain is carved by the intermittent drainage of the North Fork Smoky Hill River and its tributary Cow Creek. The map documents a sparsely populated ranching and energy-producing area where isolated Well sites and a Gas Well punctuate the vast grid. Surveyed before modern large-scale irrigation transformed much of eastern Colorado, the map preserves the exact placement of local infrastructure, from a lonely Radio Tower to a Gravel Pit, offering a detailed view of the region's agricultural and industrial utility during the late Vietnam era.