Loading map...

1964 Map of El Capitan

Name: 1964 Topographic Map of El Capitan
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1968
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1968

About this map

El Capitan dominates the high-altitude landscape of the Bitterroot Range along the border between Montana and Idaho. Surveyed in the mid-1960s, this area is characterized by an extensive network of subalpine basins and glacial lakes, including Lake Capitan and the Big Grizzly Lake group. The map detail reflects a protected wilderness environment where human activity is limited to a traditional Pack Trail system traversing the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness.

Drainage patterns defined by Capitan Creek and Rock Creek flow through deeply carved valleys like One Horn Basin, while higher elevations feature remote points such as Whites Mountain. The cartography captures a specific moment in the management of the Nez Perce National Forest and Bitterroot National Forest, showing the primitive access routes through Bear Creek Pass and across the South Fork Meadows before modern shifts in wilderness conservation.