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1968 Map of Pikes Stockade

Name: 1968 Topographic Map of Pikes Stockade
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1971
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1971

About this map

The confluence of the Conejos River and the Rio Grande anchors this 1968 landscape, dominated by a complex network of agricultural irrigation and high desert terrain. The area is defined by its water management, visible through numerous flowing wells and named canals like the Stewart Ditch, Tenfoot Lateral, and Lasauses Lateral, which sustain the San Luis Valley floor. To the south, the topography rises sharply into the San Luis Hills, where the Sierra Del Ojito and Saddleback Mountain stand as prominent landmarks above the river plains.

Historians will find the Pikes Stockade (Historic Site) situated along the northern bank of the Conejos, marking a significant early nineteenth-century frontier location. The northeastern corner of the map includes a portion of the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge, where the Hansen Bluff Slough provides a look at the natural riparian environment before it meets the managed waters of the Conejos River Diversion. Local hydrology is further detailed through features such as McIntire Spring and Dexter Spring.