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1952 Map of Rock School

Name: 1952 Topographic Map of Rock School
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1954
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1954

About this map

Rock School serves as the focal point for this 1952 topographic study of the canyon-and-plateau country in Rio Blanco County. Situated along the winding course of Piceance Creek, the schoolhouse is the primary landmark in a landscape defined by an intricate network of drainages. To the west, Black Sulphur Creek and Eureka Creek carve through the high ground, while the southern reaches are dominated by the deep incisions of Hunter Creek and Big Jimmy Gulch.

The surveying work highlights the remote ranching and grazing character of the era, where geographical orientation relied heavily on named waterways and topographic markers like VABM 6670 Sagebrush. The density of gulches, including Enoch Gulch and Little Dry Gulch, illustrates the complex erosional patterns that dictated settlement and movement throughout this high-desert environment before modern development altered the landscape.