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1964 Map of King Bench

Name: 1964 Topographic Map of King Bench
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1991
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1991

About this map

Cliff Dwelling remains are documented along the winding path of The Gulch, highlighting the deep ancestral history of this Garfield County landscape. Surveyed in the late 1950s and field-checked in 1964, the map reveals a wilderness shaped by massive plateau-like formations such as King Bench, Brigham Tea Bench, and Steep Creek Bench. These elevated flats are cut by a complex drainage system where Deer Creek and Boulder Creek converge near the Escalante River in the southwestern corner.

The presence of isolated livestock infrastructure, including a Tank and multiple Tanks, suggests the seasonal ranching use of these benches. To the east, the dramatic Circle Cliffs rise above Wolverine Creek and the Little Bown Bench, illustrating the sheer verticality of the terrain. This map serves as a primary record of the corridor between the river and the high benches before modern recreation transformed the region's accessibility.