1960 Map of Atkinson Creek

About this map

Uncompahgre National Forest land dominates this western Colorado landscape, where the plateau terrain of Spring Creek Mesa is deeply incised by a complex drainage system. The map reveals a land structured by water and elevation, from the heights of Wild Cow Mesa and Long Mesa down to the carved canyons of Big Atkinson Creek and Burro Creek. Evidence of high-country land use is centered around the Spring Creek Ranch and a remote Airstrip, indicating the specialized infrastructure required for ranching and resource management in this isolated part of Mesa and Montrose Counties. Distinctive geological features like the Atkinson Breaks, Gypsum Bluff, and the natural depressions of Blue Basin and Hog Park highlight the dramatic erosional patterns typical of the region during the mid-twentieth century.