1962 Map of Iris

About this map

Iris and the nearby Denver City Mine sit at the center of this 1960s survey, illustrating the high-altitude mining and ranching economy along the boundary of Gunnison and Saguache Counties. The landscape is heavily marked by small-scale extraction and homesteading, with several scattered family sites including the Flick Homestead, Jones Homestead, and Post Homestead. Water management and transportation in this high-desert terrain are defined by the winding courses of Cochetopa Creek and numerous gulches such as Merry-go-round Gulch and Dutch Gulch. The map records a specific era of land use where isolated operations like the Lucky Strike Mine and Mineral Hill Mine are connected by a network of jeep trails and unimproved roads, with the Iris Cem serving as a primary genealogical landmark for the remote community.