1885 Map of East Tavaputs

About this map

The East Tavaputs Plateau and its dramatic escarpments dominate this late-nineteenth-century reconnaissance by the Hayden and Powell surveys. Defined by the massive southern sweep of the Roan or Book Cliffs and the Brown Cliffs, the landscape transitions from high plateaus into the broad Grand River Valley. The mapping documents an era when transportation was beginning to bridge this formidable terrain, specifically showing the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad tracing the southern edge of the valley. Significant water sources like the White River in the north and the Grand River in the south are flanked by numerous seasonal drainages such as Evacuation Creek and Asphalt Creek, illustrating the complex hydrological network that early surveyors navigated along the Colorado Utah Boundary Line.