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1968 Map of Big Sinks

Name: 1968 Topographic Map of Big Sinks
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1971
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1971

About this map

Big Sinks characterizes this section of Eddy County, where the topography is defined by the depressions and drainage patterns of the high desert. Ranching infrastructure is the primary mark of human activity, represented by isolated landmarks like Twin Wells Ranch and a network of water features including Poker Tank, Jo Bar Tank, and Hurston Tank. These water sources, essential for livestock in an arid climate, are often paired with namesake landmarks such as Engles Windmill and Keyhole Windmill.

The landscape's natural features, such as Centinela Mound and Dog Town Draw, provide navigational anchors in an area otherwise sparse of major settlements. Evidence of mid-century industrial activity appears through several scattered Gravel Pit sites and a prominent Pipeline cutting across the terrain. For the aviation-minded or local historian, the presence of a remote Landing Area and a dedicated Landing Strip in the southern portion of the sheet suggests the vast distances managed by local landholders in the late 1960s.