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1956 Map of Emerald Lake

Name: 1956 Topographic Map of Emerald Lake
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1958
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1958

About this map

Shoshone National Forest dominates this high-altitude landscape along the border of Park and Fremont counties. The 1956 survey reveals a wilderness defined by water and ridgeline, where the Pack Trail serves as the primary artery through the steep drainages of Frontier Creek and Emerald Creek. The mapping effort, completed as part of a Department of the Interior program for the Missouri River Basin, provides a precise record of alpine features including Emerald Lake and the smaller Green Lake perched at high elevations.

The topography is punctuated by distinctive summits like Lost Ranger Top and the Red Tops VABM station. To the south, the curiously named Devils Graveyard sits near Crescent Top, overlooking a complex network of streams such as Needle Creek and Venus Creek. The concentration of high-mountain lakes and named peaks illustrates the remote character of this portion of the Absaroka Range during the mid-1950s.