1964 Map of Tres Montosas

About this map

Cibola National Forest encompasses the high country of the Tres Montosas peaks, providing a look at Socorro County land use during the mid-1960s. The landscape is defined by its water-scarce environment, where life centered around scattered watering points such as Wolf Wells, Cedar Well, and Pine Well. While the higher elevations were preserved for public forest land, the surrounding basins supported isolated outposts like Montosa Camp, Evans Ranch, and Cat Mountain Ranch. The presence of several Borrow Pit sites indicates local material extraction, likely for the maintenance of the unimproved roads that navigate the complex drainage systems of Mulligan Gulch and Arroyo Montosa. This survey records a period of ranching and resource management in the arid southwest before more modern developments or changes in land tenure reached this part of the state.