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2020 Map of Sandy Creek Benches

Name: 2020 Topographic Map of Sandy Creek Benches
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2020
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2020

About this map

Capitol Reef National Park dominates the southwestern corner of this topographic study, where the high desert terrain transitions through a series of dramatic geological lifts and erosional cuts. The landscape is defined by its verticality, from the broad elevations of Wildcat Mesa and Cedar Mesa down to the deeply incised paths of Divide Canyon and Red Canyon. A central hydrological feature, Sandy Creek, winds through the center of the sheet, creating the distinctive Elbow of the Sandy and the eponymous Sandy Creek Benches.

Human presence is marked primarily by the primitive road network necessary to navigate this complex geography, including the Notom-Bullfrog Road and Notom Road. These routes follow the natural corridors provided by the creek and the lower benches, skirting the base of the massive Tarantula Mesa to the east. The map provides a detailed look at the drainage patterns of Sheets Gulch and Oak Creek, which feed into the larger canyon systems that characterize this part of Garfield County.