2001 Map of Paonia

About this map

Paonia serves as the gateway to the high country of the Gunnison National Forest at the start of the 21st century. The town is situated where the Gunnison River and Minnesota Creek meet, supporting a landscape of agricultural mesas and narrow mountain canyons. Stewart Mesa and Lamborn Mesa rise above the valley floor, each characterized by its own namesake school, Stewart Mesa Sch and Lamborn Sch, highlighting the distributed rural settlement pattern of Delta County. To the southeast, the terrain climbs sharply toward the high peaks of the West Elk Mountains, including the prominent Mount Lamborn and Landsend Peak. Traces of earlier mid-century community life are visible in features like the Drive-in Theater and the Bethlehem Cem, while the complex network of irrigation sources like Lone Cabin Reservoir and Inter Ocean Reservoir illustrates the engineering required to sustain orchards and farms in this high-altitude environment.