Published in 1979 from original 1959 survey data, “Creede” presents a finely detailed USGS topographic portrait of one of Colorado’s most dramatic mountain districts. At a scale of 1:62,500, the map captures Creede and its surrounding high country with the clarity and restraint characteristic of mid-century American government cartography. Contour lines sweep densely across the sheet, translating steep ridges, gulches, creek valleys, and alpine basins into a precise visual language. The result is both scientific and evocative: a record of terrain as it was understood in 1959, before later decades of development, recreation infrastructure, and environmental change altered parts of the region’s human and natural landscape.

Creede itself occupies a storied place in Colorado history, especially as a late nineteenth-century silver-mining town set deep in the San Juan Mountains. The map situates the town within the rugged drainage of the Rio Grande River and Willow Creek, with East Willow Creek, Little Gopher Creek, and Leavitt Creek threading through narrow valleys and steep-walled terrain. These waterways were more than geographic features; they shaped routes of travel, settlement, prospecting, and access to mineral claims. The map’s careful rendering of creeks, roads, and trails allows the viewer to read the landscape almost as miners, ranchers, surveyors, and early motorists might have encountered it.

The surrounding relief is the map’s great subject. Castle Peak, Silver Park, the GS Mountains, and nearby ridgelines rise through tight contour intervals, revealing a landscape of abrupt elevation shifts and complex mountain forms. The USGS style gives particular force to this terrain: contour lines, color gradations, and shaded relief work together to create a disciplined but richly textured image of the high Colorado Rockies. Rather than romanticizing the mountains, the map measures them, and in doing so conveys their scale. Passes, drainages, benches, and basins emerge with quiet authority, inviting close study of how water and elevation govern movement through the region.

The inclusion of South Fork, Wolf Creek Pass, and the San Luis Hills broadens the map’s significance beyond Creede’s immediate mining landscape. These features connect the district to wider regional patterns of travel, watershed geography, and settlement in southern Colorado. Wolf Creek Pass, long an important crossing through the San Juan Mountains, evokes the challenges of transportation in a region where weather, altitude, and terrain dictate access. The Rio Grande River and its tributaries anchor the composition, while reservoirs, roads, and trails indicate the human adaptations imposed upon a demanding alpine environment. Together, these details create a layered record of natural systems and practical occupation.

As a historical topographic map, “Creede” is especially compelling because it preserves a mid-twentieth-century snapshot of landforms, routes, settlements, and mapped knowledge. USGS maps of this period were designed for utility, but their precision now gives them archival beauty: they show not only where things were, but how the land was interpreted. Comparing this 1959-based depiction with present-day mapping can reveal changes in land use, road networks, recreational access, water management, and development around Creede and the upper Rio Grande country. Its value lies in that dual identity—both a technical survey document and an elegant cartographic record of a remarkable Colorado mountain landscape.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Creede
• Silver Park
• Rio Grande River
• Willow Creek
• Little Gopher Creek
• Leavitt Creek
• East Willow Creek
• South Fork
• Castle Peak
• Gs Mountains
• Wolf Creek Pass
• San Luis Hills
• Reservoirs, not named
• Various trails and roads, not named

Historical context & cartographic details

• Map title: Creede
• Produced by the US Geological Survey, USGS
• Original data from 1959; published in 1979
• Historical topographic map at a scale of 1:62,500
• Depicts Creede, Colorado, and the surrounding mountainous terrain
• Uses standard USGS topographic conventions, including contour lines to represent elevation
• Shading and color gradients indicate terrain relief and elevation changes
• Shows rugged mountainous terrain typical of the Creede area
• Reflects the geographical characteristics of Creede and its surroundings as of 1959
• Useful for comparing historical land use, development, and environmental change with modern maps

Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.

Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.

Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.

Every piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.

With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.