1953 Map of Black Rock Spring NW

About this map

The Yakima Firing Center Military Reservation dominates this mid-century landscape where the border between Kittitas and Yakima counties follows the high crest of Umtanum Ridge. This area shows a transition between ranching and military use, with family-named locations like Holmes Ranch and Bernhardt Ranch appearing alongside an Abadoned Dam near the headwaters of the Selah Ditch. The terrain is defined by dramatic elevation changes, notably across the Hog Ranch Buttes and the steep drainages of Squaw Creek and Selah Creek. Surveyed by the Army Map Service and the Corps of Engineers, the map preserves the alignment of the Tel Line and unimproved dirt roads that once serviced these remote high-desert holdings.