1952 Map of Big Dune

About this map

The Amargosa Desert and the eastern edge of Death Valley National Monument dominate this early 1950s survey of the Nevada-California borderlands. This arid landscape is defined by the ephemeral Amargosa River and the stark topography of the Funeral Mountains, including Echo Mtn. The map documents a fading industrial and transport infrastructure, notably the Tidewater and Tonopah Railroad, which appears here as a dismantled line running near the historic Von Schmidt Line. Settlers and prospectors left their mark at locations like Ashton, Lees Camp, and Leeland, all noted as sites by the time of this mapping. Arid-land water sources, critical for survival in the region, are carefully recorded, including Roses Well and various other dry wells and prospects scattered across Crater Flat and near the prominent Big Dune.