1915 Map of Soda Canyon

About this map

Mesa Verde National Park is captured here during its first decade as a protected site, revealing a landscape where ancestral architecture and early ranching intersect. This 1911-1912 survey records several of the region's most famous structures, including Cliff Palace, Sprucetree House, and Balcony House, situated along the sheer walls of Cliff Canyon and Navajo Canyon. The southern half of the map is dominated by the Southern Ute Indian Reservation, which is divided by the deep incision of the Mancos River canyon system. Notable indicators of human activity beyond the dwellings include Waters Ranch on the northern plateau and the winding Park Road and Government Road. The topography is defined by the sharp transition between flat mesa tops like Chapin Mesa and Prater Mesa and the intricate network of canyons, such as Moccasin Canyon and Johnson Canyon, that drain south toward the river.