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1958 Map of Cajon Mesa

Name: 1958 Topographic Map of Cajon Mesa
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1960
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1960

About this map

The canyonlands of the Utah-Colorado border are defined here by archaeological sites and early mid-century infrastructure. Archaeological interest centers on Hovenweep National Monument, which protects numerous Ancestral Puebloan structures including the Square Tower Group Ruins, Hackberry Group Ruins, and Holly Group Ruins. Scattered throughout the deep cuts of Montezuma Canyon and Cross Canyon are additional Cliff Dwellings and Patroglyphs, marking a landscape long inhabited before modern settlement.

Modern activity in the late 1950s is represented by the isolated Hatch Trading Post and its nearby Hatch Sch, serving families on the edge of the Navajo Indian Reservation. The economy of the era is visible through numerous Oil Wells and remote Landing Strips, while travel follows the historic Old Bluff Road. Water sources like Tin Cup Spring and various Artesian Wells provide vital points of survival across the high mesas of San Juan and Montezuma counties.