1954 Map of Carracas

About this map

The Southern Ute Indian Reservation dominates this Colorado landscape, where the confluence of the Piedra River and the San Juan River defines the local topography. This 1954 data, later updated with aerial photography from 1971, captures the area during the development of the Navajo Reservoir. Purple revisions on the sheet indicate areas subject to controlled inundation, illustrating how the rising waters would eventually reshape the valley floor. Near the settlement of Carracas, an Old Railroad Grade follows the northern bank of the San Juan, tracing a vanished transportation corridor beneath the heights of Carracas Rim. The rugged character of the terrain is marked by prominent landforms such as Sandoval Mesa and named canyons like Sandoval Canyon and Deep Canyon, providing a detailed look at the Archuleta County borderlands before modern flooding significantly altered the river basin.