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1959 Map of Grand Junction

Name: 1959 Topographic Map of Grand Junction
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1959
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1959

About this map

The Colorado River corridor serves as the primary artery for settlement and agriculture in this late 1950s survey, anchoring the growing hub of Grand Junction. Irrigation infrastructure, including the Government Highline Canal and Grand Valley Canal, facilitates farming around Fruita and Fruitvale, while the Denver and Rio Grande Western RR follows the river's path westward toward Mack.

Away from the fertile valley, the landscape is defined by the massive escarpments of the Book Cliffs and the Roan Plateau. This transition into higher, more arid country is marked by several mineral sites and the remnants of industrial outposts like Watson, Rainbow, and Dragon. The presence of the Little Emma mine and Gilsonite labels highlights the region's specialized extractive history, while the Uintah and Ouray Reservation and Colorado National Monument protect large swaths of the surrounding plateau and canyon country.