1952 Map of Yankee Gulch

About this map

Duckett Ranch and Reigle Ranch are the primary points of settlement in this remote Colorado landscape, surveyed in the early 1950s. The terrain is defined by an intricate network of drainages and ridges, where the long Wagon Road follows the height of land above Wagonroad Gulch and Swizer Gulch. This alignment demonstrates a typical early-century reliance on topographic features to navigate the high country, avoiding the steep descents into valleys like Yankee Gulch or Black Sulphur Creek. A few isolated indicators of human activity, such as a Windmill and a mining Stake, suggest the precarious nature of agriculture and prospecting in the Rio Blanco region. Surveyors from the Geological Survey utilized triangulation points like VABM Boies and VABM Fuzzy to chart this complex topography of canyons and high ridges.