1963 Map of Scrivner Butte

About this map

The high desert landscape straddling the Wyoming and Colorado border is defined here by a network of isolated homesteads and emerging energy extraction. Settled along the drainage of Vermillion Creek and its tributaries, working ranch lands like the Rife Ranch, Scofield Ranch, and Graham Ranch anchor the remote terrain. The survey captures the mid-century industrial expansion into the Horseshoe Basin, where a growing Gas Field and the presence of the Canyon Creek Mine indicate a shift from traditional livestock operations toward resource development. Local geography is sharply articulated through named features such as Scrivner Butte and the deep incisions of Owl Canyon and Scrivner Canyon. Numerous water sources, including McKnight Spring and Two Bar Spring, underscore the critical importance of water rights in this arid environment, while a prominent Pipeline snakes across the basin floor, linking the remote extraction sites to distant markets.