1969 Map of Whitewater

About this map

The Gunnison River and the Denver and Rio Grande Western railroad tracks define the north-south axis of this Western Slope landscape. Settlement is concentrated near Whitewater, where the Whitewater Cem and various Gravel Pits suggest a community built on industrial transit and local services. The complex water management system of the high desert is visible through the Kannah Creek (Aqueduct), the Tabequache Flow Line, and several irrigation ditches like the Extension Ditch serving Mulbern Bench. To the south, the terrain becomes more isolated as it moves into the Hunting Ground and the Hallock Basin, eventually reaching the stop at Deer Run. These features illustrate the late 1960s reliance on gravity-fed water systems and rail infrastructure to sustain agriculture and mining in Mesa County's arid river valleys.