1958 Map of Loveland Pass

About this map

The Continental Divide winds across this high-altitude landscape, separating the headwaters of the Middle Fork Williams Fork from the Atlantic-bound drainage of Clear Creek. This 1958 field survey, updated with 1974 revisions, documents a critical era of transcontinental transportation as the Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel creates a passage through the granite of Coon Hill. To the west, the Straight Creek valley descends toward the Blue River basin, while the eastern slopes are dominated by the burgeoning Loveland Ski Area and the massive forms of Mount Bethel and Mount Trelease. The map illustrates the stark contrast between the industrial engineering of the tunnel and the wild terrain of the Arapaho National Forest, showing how modern infrastructure began to traverse the Williams Fork Mountains at nearly twelve thousand feet.