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1986 Map of Spar City

Name: 1986 Topographic Map of Spar City
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1986
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1986

About this map

Spar City serves as the focal point of this high-altitude landscape, situated along Lime Creek in the northern portion of the quadrangle. By the 1980s, the area remained a landscape defined by resource extraction and rugged geography within the Rio Grande National Forest. The map documents numerous mining operations concentrated south of the settlement, including the Emma Mine, several Prospect sites, and a Corral near Bird Creek. These features suggest a history of prospecting that sought to tap into the mineral wealth of the surrounding peaks.

Terrain is dominated by massive formations like Snowshoe Mountain and Fisher Mountain, the latter rising within the Weminuche Wilderness. The drainage network is dense, with Palo Alto Creek and Roaring Fork carving through the mountains. Evidence of early land management and surveying is visible along the New Mexico Principal Meridian, which cuts vertically through the eastern half of the map, marking a critical boundary in the development of the Colorado high country.