1985 Map of Turtle Canyon

About this map

Joe Spring provides a rare point of water in the high, dry landscape of the Big Horn Benches, located within the remote drainage systems of eastern Emery County. This mid-1980s provisional study documents a region defined by its extreme verticality, where deep cuts like Turtle Canyon and Xmas Canyon carve through the plateau. The drainage of Range Creek marks the eastern boundary, while the massive profile of Big Horn Mountain overlooks the southeastern corner of the quadrangle. Aside from a lone unnamed Trail and the gravel path of Little Park Wash, the map shows a land largely devoid of modern development, focusing instead on the complex network of intermittent watercourses like Mitchs Canyon and the natural corridor of Rabbit Valley. It captures the area in its raw state before further recreational or industrial use altered the primitive access routes.