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1925 Map of Parachute Creek

Name: 1925 Topographic Map of Parachute Creek
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1965
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1965

About this map

The Naval Oil Shale Reserve dominates this high-altitude landscape in Western Colorado, where the deeply incised canyons of the Roan Plateau converge. At the time of this 1925 survey, industrial activity focused on early shale extraction, evidenced by the Columbia Shale Camp and Washington Shale Camp situated in the drainage basins. These remote camps and the Granlee School suggest a temporary but established community centered around resource exploration during the interwar period.

Transportation through this difficult terrain relied heavily on a network of established paths rather than developed roads, including the Willow Creek Trail, Wilda Trail, and Circle Dot Trail. The map meticulously traces the forks of Parachute Creek, from West Fork Parachute Creek to East Fork Parachute Creek, showing the scattered locations of high-country outposts like Summers Cabin and Crawford Cabins used by early ranchers or surveyors.