Loading map...

1893 Map of Crested Butte

Name: 1893 Topographic Map of Crested Butte
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1893
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1893

About this map

The high mountain settlement of Crested Butte sits at the base of its namesake peak, serving as a hub for the Upper Gunnison River Valley in the late 19th century. This 1893 edition shows the critical infrastructure that fueled the region's early growth, most notably the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad which follows the path of the Slate River toward the town site. To the north, the mining camp of Gothic is nestled near Copper Creek and Avery Peak, marking a period of intense prospecting and extraction in the Elk Mountains.

The landscape is defined by its extreme topography, from the jagged peaks of the Saw Tooth Range to high alpine corridors like Pearl Pass and Taylor Pass. Drainage patterns are meticulously detailed along the East River and Spring Creek, while localized features such as the Hot Spring near Granite Basin and the winding Washington Gulch illustrate the varied terrain encountered by early surveyors W.H. Leffingwell and Laurence Thompson.