1964 Map of Grand Junction

About this map

The Colorado River and Gunnison River converge at the heart of the Grand Valley, where the regional center of Grand Junction serves as a hub for the orchards and ranching of the Western Slope. This 1960s-era revision by the Army Map Service reveals the complex transportation network through the high desert and mesas, following the Denver and Rio Grande Western railroad corridor through Cameo and Fruita. To the north and west, the landscape is defined by the sharp escarpments of the Book Cliffs and Roan Cliffs, leading into the high plateaus of the Uintah Basin. Remote outposts like Atchee, Dragon, and Watson mark the legacy of narrow-gauge rail and mineral extraction in the borderlands. The geography transitions from the deep canyons of the Colorado National Monument to the timbered heights of the Grand Mesa National Forest, illustrating the varied terrain of the Colorado-Utah border.