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1935 Map of Elk Ridge

Name: 1935 Topographic Map of Elk Ridge
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1954
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1954

About this map

Blanding serves as the eastern anchor of this 1935 survey, which covers a high-altitude wilderness defined by the Abajo Mountains and the deep incisions of the Colorado River at Cataract Canyon. The landscape is a complex network of mesa tops and canyons, where archaeology and grazing overlap. Numerous Cliff Dwelling sites and Ruins are documented within Fable Valley and the Dark Canyon Plateau, alongside early 20th-century ranching outposts such as Wilson Ranch, Scorup Ranch, and Perkins Ranch.

Administrative presence in the Manti-La Sal National Forest is marked by several remote outposts, including the Kigalia Ranger Sta and Gooseberry Ranger Sta. The topography transitions from the high peaks of Abajo Peak and Mt Linnaeus down to the sprawling drainage systems of White Canyon and Comb Wash, illustrating the difficult terrain that isolated this corner of San Juan County during the mid-century era.