1955 Map of The Cockscob SW

About this map

The Paria (Site) marks a critical point of human history along the southern reaches of the Paria River, documenting the remnants of a settlement in a landscape defined by extreme elevation changes. This 1955 preliminary survey illustrates the corridor between Upper Death Valley and Lower Death Valley, where the drainage of Hackberry Creek and Cottonwood Creek has carved deep, winding passages through the plateau. A single Jeep Trail provides the only mapped access through these drainages, highlighting the isolation of the area in the mid-1950s. The topography captured here via multiplex methods from 1953 aerial photography emphasizes the complex network of side canyons like Kitchen Canyon that feed into the main river valley, revealing the natural barriers that dictated early routes through Kane County.