1992 Map of Slide Bluffs

About this map

Kings Canyon National Park dominates this high-altitude landscape in Fresno County, where the Middle Fork Kings River carves through the massive granite formations of the Slide Bluffs. This 1992 photo-inspection reveals a wilderness shaped by extreme vertical relief, stretching from the White Divide in the north to the Monarch Divide at the southern boundary. The topography is defined by sharp glacial features, including the aptly named Gorge of Despair and high alpine basins containing the Swamp Lakes and Volcanic Lakes. Evidence of seasonal grazing and early mountain travel is preserved in labels like Lightning Corral and Gravel Meadow. The map meticulously tracks the drainages of Blue Canyon, which drops over Blue Canyon Falls, and the complex network of creeks such as Alpine Creek and Dog Creek that feed the river system below Tunemah Peak.