1961 Map of Cottonwood Pass

About this map

White River National Forest defines the rugged high-elevation terrain of this 1961 field-checked survey along the Garfield and Eagle County line. The landscape is carved by a complex network of drainages including Spruce Creek, Cottonwood Creek, and East Coulter Creek, which feed into the Colorado River in the northwest. Distinctive landmarks like The Eagle Nest, Gobbler Knob, and Buck Point overlook the transition between timbered slopes and open areas such as Dock Flats. Human activity in the early 1960s is evidenced by a scattered infrastructure of jeep trails, telephone lines, and the Van Springs Reservoir. This map reveals the specialized geography of the era's backcountry, where named locations like Slaughter Spring and various Beaver Ponds served as vital points of reference for ranching and forest management before modern development.