1961 Map of Brenton Springs

About this map

Brenton Springs marks a high point in this high-desert landscape, where the drainage networks of the Great Divide Basin meet the northern slopes of the Antelope Hills. The map captures a moment of mid-century industrial expansion in the Fremont Co Sweetwater Co borderlands, evidenced by the development of the Gas Field in the south and various prospects scattered across the northern ridges. Water management is a central theme of this 1960s survey, with the Arapahoe Ditch and several man-made impoundments like Hadsell Reservoir and Cold Spring Reservoir supporting local needs. The complex hydrology of the East West Arapahoe Creek and its tributaries, including Alkali Creek and Magpie Creek, illustrates how seasonal drainages were utilized in this arid region before later modern developments altered the surface landscape.