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1892 Map of Mt Carrizo

Name: 1892 Topographic Map of Mt Carrizo
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1901
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1901

About this map

The canyonlands of southeastern Colorado appear here as they were documented during an 1890 survey by topographer Willard D. Johnson. This high plains landscape is dominated by the dramatic relief of the Mesa De Maya and the prominent Mount Carrizo, where Carrizo Springs provided a critical water source in an otherwise arid territory. The drainage patterns of West Carrizo Creek and Two Butte Creek illustrate the erosional forces that shaped the Nonsmoking Canyon in the northwest corner of the sheet.

Watering points like Willow Spring were vital landmarks for travel between the county line of Las Animas and Baca. The map captures the frontier character of the region just before the turn of the century, tracing the Boundary Line between Colorado and New Mexico. Significant geological features such as Fowler Mesa and the distinctively named Potato Butte serve as primary navigational markers in this remote cattle-ranching country.