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1912 Map of Soda Canyon

Name: 1912 Topographic Map of Soda Canyon
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1961
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1961

About this map

Mesa Verde National Park and the surrounding Southern Ute Indian Reservation define this 1912 survey, which documents an incredible concentration of Ancestral Puebloan architectural sites. The landscape is dominated by high mesas like Chapin Mesa and School Section Mesa, separated by deep canyons where legendary sites such as Cliff Palace, Sprucetree House, and Balcony House are precisely plotted. The Mancos River snakes through the central canyon, providing a vital water source in this arid terrain.

Insight into early 20th-century archaeological documentation is visible through the labeling of individual structures like Nordenskiold House and the Sun Temple. Beyond the park boundaries, the map traces the early road to Waters Ranch and numerous springs and ponds added during the 1930s by the Indian Office, reflecting the dual history of federal preservation and local ranching and reservation life in Montezuma County.