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1964 Map of Pole Creek Mountain

Name: 1964 Topographic Map of Pole Creek Mountain
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1967
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1967

About this map

The Continental Divide winds across this high-altitude landscape of the mid-1960s, marking the boundary where the Gunnison National Forest meets the Rio Grande National Forest. Dominating the central topography is Pole Creek Mountain, which overlooks the headwaters of the Rio Grande and Pole Creek. The map documents an intricate network of primitive transportation routes essential to the high country economy, including the Garita Stock Driveway and the Stock Driveway for moving livestock across the divide.

Mountain peaks such as Carson Peak and Bent Peak tower over deep valleys like Wager Gulch and Square Gulch. Resource extraction and wilderness access are evident through scattered prospects and established footpaths like the Cuba Pack Trail and Cataract Gulch Trail. High-elevation water bodies like Cataract Lake feed the complex drainage systems of the North Fork and West Lost Trail Creek, illustrating the hydrography of the San Juan Mountains long before modern development reached these remote Hinsdale and San Juan County lines.