Loading map...

2021 Map of Purgatory Canyon

Name: 2021 Topographic Map of Purgatory Canyon
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2021
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2021

About this map

The Virgin River cuts through the northwest corner of this Mohave County landscape, passing below Black Rock Gulch and the distinctive formations of Yellow Knolls. This high-desert terrain is marked by severe vertical relief and isolation, centered on the deep fissure of Purgatory Canyon and its smaller counterpart, Little Purgatory Canyon. To the north, Starvation Point overlooks the river valley, while the Shivwits Arch stands as a notable landmark within the complex drainage systems.

A narrow corridor of human activity is visible where the Black Rock Rd and Interstate 15 cross the northern reaches, including the State Line Reservoir near the Utah border. Further south, the map transition into the north-easternmost edges of the Mojave Desert, characterized by broad flats like Dinner Flat and the dramatic rise of Black Rock Mtn and Mokaac Mtn. The Public Land Survey System grid segments the territory into townships including t41n r13w, showing the vast, unsettled nature of this Arizona-Utah borderland.