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1966 Map of Rifle Falls

Name: 1966 Topographic Map of Rifle Falls
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1969
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1969

About this map

The White River National Forest defines the rugged geography of this 1960s survey, where the White River Plateau gives way to the deep drainages of East Rifle Creek and West Elk Creek. Resource management and early recreation are central to the landscape, evidenced by the Rifle Falls Fish Hatchery and the development of the Blue Spruce Campground. A small Landing Strip and the presence of a Community Building near the junction of several mountain trails suggest a functional hub for the forest's remote workforce and visitors.

Industrial activity is preserved through the locations of the Rifle Mine and several other unlabeled Mines along the creek valleys. Water infrastructure, critical to this arid high-country, is mapped in detail, showing the Grass Valley Canal, West Elk Reservoir, and the northern edge of the Rifle Gap Reservoir. Transportation is marked by a transition from the maintained New Castle Buford Road to a network of stock driveways and jeep trails used for grazing and resource access.