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1953 Map of Cochiti Dam

Name: 1953 Topographic Map of Cochiti Dam
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1983
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1983

About this map

Pueblo Ruins dot the high mesas and canyon rims of this Northern New Mexico landscape, indicating centuries of human presence within the Bandelier National Monument and Santa Fe National Forest. The Rio Grande carves a deep path through the center of the sheet, where the massive engineering of the Cochiti Dam has created Cochiti Lake. This 1953 survey, with revisions from the 1970s, shows the transition from the remote canyons like Capulin Canyon and Medio Canyon to the managed waters of the river basin.

Evidence of the region's mining and indigenous history appears in labels for the settlement at Bland and the Painted Cave near Capulin Canyon. Land tenure is defined by expansive colonial-era boundaries, including the Pueblo de Cochiti Grant and the La Majada Grant. Steep terrain rises toward St Peters Dome in the northwest, while numerous windmills and trails suggest the sparse but persistent ranching and hiking activity throughout the volcanic plateaus.