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1892 Map of Alturas

Name: 1892 Topographic Map of Alturas
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1892
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1892

About this map

Fort Bidwell and the high desert outposts of the far northeastern corner of California are meticulously documented in this late nineteenth-century survey. The landscape is dominated by the massive Warner Mountains, which separate the expansive Goose Lake basin from the Upper Lake and Middle Alkali Lake systems along the Nevada border. This era shows the region as a network of isolated ranching and mining hubs, including the settlement of Adin in the south and Cedarville in the Surprise Valley.

One of the most compelling historical markers on the sheet is the notation of Old Indian Villages north of the Pit River, reflecting the indigenous presence in the high plateau. The terrain varies from the desolate Modoc Lava Bed to the mining activity at Hayden Hill. Significant water sources and geothermal features like Boyd Hot Spring underscore the volcanic geology that defined early settlement patterns in this remote reach of Modoc and Lassen counties.