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1949 Map of Black Diamond

Name: 1949 Topographic Map of Black Diamond
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1976
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1976

About this map

The Green River carves a deep, winding valley across this landscape, defining the southern geography of a region shaped by industry and the waters of the Puget Sound lowlands. At the heart of the sheet, Black Diamond and Morganville represent the historic coal mining core of King County, where a Coal Mine and local Cem reflect the settlement's early mining heritage. To the north, the terrain transitions into a lake-rich plateau, featuring Lake Sawyer, Pipe Lake, and Wilderness Lake, surrounded by evolving residential pockets like Covington and Meridian Heights.

The southern edge of the map is anchored by the Muckleshoot Indian Reservation and the small community of Newaukum. This 1949 survey, with revisions into the early 1970s, captures the area during a period of transition as the industrial roots of the Sawmill and coal operations began to meet the expanding suburban footprint of the Seattle-Tacoma corridor. Researchers can trace the path of Jenkins Creek and Covington Creek as they weave through what was once a landscape of swamps and timber.