1956 Map of Escalante

About this map

The massive geologic uplift of the Waterpocket Fold and the high elevations of the Kaiparowits Plateau dominate this 1970 revision of the high desert. At this stage of the mid-century, the Colorado River has begun its transformation following the completion of the Glen Canyon Dam, showing the emerging waters of Lake Powell filling the deep canyons. The map tracks the transition from the forested heights of the Dixie National Forest near Escalante and Boulder down to the red rock spires of Monument Valley at the Arizona border. Geologists and surveyors have documented the jagged lines of the Straight Cliffs and the isolation of Navajo Mountain, alongside remote landmarks like Coyote Gulch and the Natural Bridges National Monument, illustrating a landscape defined by its formidable verticality and shifting water levels.