1972 Map of Rock Crossing

About this map

Taylor Arroyo and Big Water Arroyo converge in this arid portion of Las Animas County, carving deep channels through the high plains. The map records a sparse landscape where the only named settlement is the namesake Rock Crossing, located near the intersection of several unimproved roads and a long-distance pipeline that traverses the terrain from north to south. Near the southern edge of the survey, the Big Canyon Tyron Airport stands as a isolated marker of modern infrastructure in an otherwise remote ranching or grazing territory. This 1970s record is particularly valuable for documenting the exact drainage patterns of Burke Arroyo and the network of primitive ranch roads before they were altered by modern land use or energy development in the Colorado steppe.