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1926 Map of Montezuma

Name: 1926 Topographic Map of Montezuma
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1926
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1926

About this map

The Continental Divide serves as the backbone of this high-altitude survey, delineating the borders of the Arapaho National Forest, Pike National Forest, and Leadville National Forest during the mid-1920s. The landscape is defined by its industrial activity, with concentrated mining operations such as the Waldorf Mine, Stevens Mine, and the Golden Belt Tunnel tunneling into the peaks of the Williams River Mountains and Mc Clellan Mountain. These sites were supported by small, specialized mountain settlements like Montezuma and Tiger, which sat at the intersections of rugged gulches and the upper reaches of the Snake River.

Transportation through this formidable terrain was limited to narrow tracks and high-mountain crossings like Argentine Pass and Loveland Pass. The map records a transition in utility, showing the early Transmission Line infrastructure following the river valleys. Evidence of the region’s hydraulic history is visible in the network of creeks like Peru Creek and Chihuahua Gulch, which fueled the silver and lead extraction that shaped the local economy before the large-scale shift toward winter recreation in places like Keystone.