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1940 Map of Garfield

Name: 1940 Topographic Map of Garfield
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1968
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1968

About this map

Mining operations and high-altitude rail engineering dominate this section of the Continental Divide, where the border of Gunnison and Chaffee counties follows the mountain crests. The map illustrates a landscape shaped by late 19th-century resource extraction, featuring numerous industrial sites such as the Gold Cup Republic Mine, Bon Ton Mine, and the Blistered Horn Mill. Narrow-gauge rail history is preserved here through the Old Alpine Tunnel, an ambitious engineering feat that pierced the divide to connect the Gunnison and Arkansas River watersheds.

Industrial settlements like St. Elmo, Hancock, and Monarch are situated at the heads of steep gulches, serving as hubs for the surrounding mines. In the south, the Denver and Rio Grande Western railroad line skirts the base of Monarch Ridge, while the northern portion is defined by the drainage of Chalk Creek near Iron City. This survey, conducted by Max J. Gleissner and others, provides a window into the transition of these mining districts before mid-century changes altered the high-country landscape.