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2020 Map of Emery Peak

Name: 2020 Topographic Map of Emery Peak
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2020
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2020

About this map

Emery Peak and River Mesa dominate the high-altitude topography where the borders of Las Animas County, Colorado, and Union County, New Mexico, meet. This arid landscape is defined by its drainage systems, most notably the winding course of the Dry Cimarron River and the artificial Johns and Gleason Ditch, which suggest a history of water management in a region where surface water is scarce.

Several named features hint at early passage through these canyons and mesas, including Emery Gap at the northern boundary and the evocatively named Toll Gate Canyon. The prevalence of named landforms such as Devoys Peak, Sumpters Canyon, and Gleasons Canyon provides a record of family names tied to the ranching or homesteading history of this high plains borderland. Modern county roads like Co RD b032 follow the contours of the terrain, tracing the natural corridors established by the local canyons.