1987 Map of Sandy Creek Benches

About this map

Sandy Ranch sits at the heart of this high-desert landscape in the late 1980s, positioned where Sandy Creek flows between the dramatic elevations of Capitol Reef National Park and the surrounding tablelands. The terrain is defined by extreme relief, from the sharp descent at the Elbow of the Sandy to the narrow drainage of The Narrows. A network of deep canyons and washes, including North Coleman Canyon and Sheets Gulch, cut through the massive geologic formations of Wildcat Mesa and Tarantula Mesa. The map illustrates a remote grazing and transit landscape, where the wide Sandy Creek Benches provided vital flat ground for movement in an area otherwise dominated by the sheer verticality of the reef and mesas.