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1972 Map of Beaty Canyon

Name: 1972 Topographic Map of Beaty Canyon
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1976
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1976

About this map

The Purgatoire River carves a deep path through the northwestern corner of this Las Animas County landscape, its course marked by the traditional Rock Crossing. This early 1970s survey captures a semi-arid ranching environment where water management is the primary human imprint on the land. A network of dams and named springs, such as Goat Ranch Dam, Telephone Dam, and Sampler Spring, illustrates the necessity of capturing every seasonal flow within the complex drainages of Beaty Canyon and Clark Canyon.

Beyond the steep breaks of the canyons, the terrain opens into the higher, flatter expanse of Round Prairie to the east. Isolated infrastructure, including the Padilla Windmill and Sixteen Windmill, serves as a reminder of the vast distances between early settlements. The presence of Graves near the eastern margin and the path of the Villegreen Road provide critical markers for genealogists and local historians tracing the footprints of rural life in this corner of Colorado.