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1981 Map of Colony Ranch

Name: 1981 Topographic Map of Colony Ranch
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1981
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1981

About this map

Pueblo Mountains dominate the western edge of this High Desert landscape, where the terrain drops sharply into the Pueblo Valley (Depression). The map details a specialized ranching and water-retrieval network centered on Colony Ranch and the unusual designation of Poor Farm. Surface water is scarce, concentrated in the Pueblo Slough and various ephemeral drainages like Pueblo Creek and Cottonwood Creek.

Evidence of early livestock operations and desert survival appears through numerous named wells, such as the South Sand Hills Well, and scattered Ruins and Corral sites near Oliver. The presence of several Prospect sites and Borrow Pits indicates small-scale extraction efforts. Notable landforms like Red Point and Mapes Flat provide navigational anchors in an area defined by the shifting terrain of the Sand Hills and Pueblo Hills.