2019 Map of Waverly

About this map

Agricultural life in this section of the San Luis Valley is defined by a dense network of water management features surrounding the community of Waverly. The landscape is etched with irrigation and drainage infrastructure, from the large-scale Empire Canal and Monte Vista Canal to specialized local works like the Resettlement Ditch and Spruce Lawn Ditch. These man-made waterways crisscross the boundary lines between Alamosa, Rio Grande, and Conejos counties, supporting a grid of rural roads and homesteads. The naming of features like the Denver Colony Lateral and Brownlow Lateral suggests a history of planned land development and collaborative water rights essential to farming in this high-altitude basin. Natural drainages like Rock Cr and Cat Cr appear alongside these engineered channels, illustrating how early settlers redirected the limited water supply to transform the arid valley floor into productive cropland.