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1961 Map of Finley Reservoir

Name: 1961 Topographic Map of Finley Reservoir
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1968
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1968

About this map

The North Platte River winds through this Carbon County landscape, defining a corridor of high-altitude ranching and water management in the early 1960s. The map illustrates a complex network of irrigation infrastructure essential to the region's agricultural viability, including the Wiant Highland Ditch, Hay Creek Ditch, and Brewer DITCH. These systems feed into and out of critical storage points like the Finley Reservoir and the Horn and Meason Reservoir.

Family-named operations such as the Lazy River M Ranch, Moore Ranch, and Blom Ranch are scattered across the terrain, which rises toward the eastern boundary of the Medicine Bow National Forest. The presence of the Union Pacific railroad line in the southwestern corner highlights the vital transportation link that connected these remote ranchlands to wider markets. From the heights of Cedar Ridge to the low draws of Edwards Draw, the map provides a clear record of the relationship between the river and the land it sustains.