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1970 Map of Sanford Hills

Name: 1970 Topographic Map of Sanford Hills
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1974
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1974

About this map

Sanford Hills rises as a prominent landmark along the boundary of Pueblo and Las Animas counties in this 1970 survey. The landscape is defined by its water-management infrastructure, featuring a network of isolated windmills and reservoirs essential for high-plains ranching. Working cattle operations such as English Camp, Black Ranch, and Jacobs Ranch are scattered across the terrain, connected by the drainage systems of Saunders Arroyo and Twomile Arroyo.

In the southeast, the Apishapa River and Buffalo River converge near a small Cem (cemetery), providing a rare concentration of permanent water and local history. The map captures an era of traditional land use before modern development, documented through named natural features like Haystack Butte and the winding depths of Cottonwood Canyon and Woods Canyon. For those tracing local ranching genealogies, the specific placement of the Lou Nelson Ranch and various named springs offers precise evidence of early 20th-century habitation patterns.