1893 Map of Bear Valley

About this map

Sawtooth Range peaks dominate the eastern portion of this late nineteenth-century reconnaissance, marking the intersection of Custer, Boise, and Elmore counties. The hydrology of the region is documented through the high-altitude drainage systems of the Middle Fork Salmon River and the Payette River, which define the topography of what was then newly designated national forest land. Geographer A.H. Thompson and topographer E.T. Perkins Jr. recorded a landscape defined by its remote water bodies and mountain passes, such as Stanley Lake and the Cape Horn promontory. The map illustrates the sprawling boundaries of the Payette National Forest and Challis National Forest before the twentieth-century expansion of roads and infrastructure. Tracing the courses of Warm Spring Creek and Fagus Creek, the survey provides a detailed record of the wilderness as it was encountered by early federal mapping parties.