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1962 Map of West Fork Lake

Name: 1962 Topographic Map of West Fork Lake
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1990
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1990

About this map

The Sierra Madre range and the Continental Divide dominate this high-country landscape within the Routt National Forest. Mapping conducted in the late 1950s and updated in the mid-1970s reveals a wilderness defined by its water sources and rugged elevation, where the headwaters of the Encampment River and the West Fork Encampment River begin their descent. The terrain is marked by remote high-altitude basins like West Fork Meadows and alpine water bodies such as Manzanares Lake and West Fork Lake.

Transit through this territory is limited to a network of seasonal routes, including the Stock Driveway and numerous primitive paths like the Pack Trail and Jeep Trail. These trails often follow the natural contours of the mountain ridges, such as those around Black Mountain, reflecting an era of land management focused on forestry and livestock movement rather than permanent settlement. The boundary between Jackson County and Routt County traverses the southern portion of the map near Big Red Park, underscoring the administrative divisions in this remote corner of Colorado.