1963 Map of La Veta Pass

About this map

North La Veta Pass and the lower La Veta Pass anchor this high-altitude survey of the Sangre de Cristo Range on the Huerfano and Costilla County border. The landscape is defined by the legacy of mountain transit, where the Denver and Rio Grande Western railroad winds through the passes alongside the historic Wagon Toll Road. These corridors of movement served remote outposts like Muleshoe and Codo, while the Mallet Vega Camp sits deep within the western canyons. The topographic detail reveals a complex network of drainages including Missouri Creek and North Abeyta Creek, which carve through the elevations between Mount Mestas and Dump Mountain. This 1963 snapshot captures the infrastructure of the Southern Rockies just as modern highway improvements were beginning to reshape these traditional pass routes, yet it preserves the locations of early resource extraction like the Mine and Gravel Pit near Windy Point.