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1959 Map of Electric Peak

Name: 1959 Topographic Map of Electric Peak
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1965
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1965

About this map

San Isabel National Forest and Rio Grande National Forest meet at the crest of the Sangre de Cristo Range, creating a divide between Custer and Saguache counties. The landscape is dominated by high-altitude peaks like Electric Peak and Spread Eagle Peak, where drainage systems like Swift Creek and Cotton Creek flow from alpine lakes toward the valley floors. In the lower elevations, the transition from timberline to grazing land is evident through the presence of the Hutchinson Homestead and King Homestead, representing the area's agricultural foundations.

Resource extraction and transit patterns appear in the form of the Cloverdale Mine and an Old Railroad Grade in the southwest corner. The eastern slopes show a shift toward recreation and summer residences at the end of the 1950s, noted by settlements like Tanglewood Acres, The Pines, and Abbotts Lodge. High-country access is defined by the Rainbow Trail, which skirts the eastern foothills, providing a connective thread between family ranches like San Isabel Ranch.