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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 sits tucked away in the upper reaches of The Gulch, a testament to the long human history of this remote Garfield County landscape. This 1964 survey, photoinspected in the mid-1970s, documents a high-desert terrain dominated by massive plateau features like King Bench and the distinctively named Brigham Tea Bench. The southern portion of the sheet is defined by the winding course of the Escalante River, where it meets the confluence of Boulder Creek.

The map's detail reveals an intricate drainage system including Steep Creek, Deer Creek, and Wolverine Creek, each cutting deep canyons through the benches. These natural corridors, such as Horse Canyon and Long Canyon, formed the primary routes through this territory before modern infrastructure. For those researching the physical geography and prehistoric sites of the region, these topographic records provide precise locations for seasonal water sources like the Tank and Spring sites scattered across the mesas.