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2022 Map of Howardsville

Name: 2022 Topographic Map of Howardsville
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2022
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2022

About this map

The Animas River flows through a landscape of high-altitude basins and steep gulches in the heart of the San Juan Mountains. Early settlements like Howardsville and Middleton sit at the intersections of vital transit routes, where historic mining activity carved out a network of roads and trails including the Minnie Gulch Road Trl and Maggie Gulch Road Trl. These corridors follow the drainage of Cunningham Creek and Minnie Gulch, leading toward the high alpine water of Silver Lake and Crystal Lake.

The western headwaters of the Rio Grande emerge in the eastern reaches of this map, separated from the Animas drainage by the Continental Divide. High peaks such as King Solomon Mtn and Macomber Peak overlook an area defined by deep natural basins, including Cataract Basin and Little Giant Basin. The presence of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trl crossing Stony Pass highlights the region's importance as a primary mountain crossing.