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1948 Map of Black Top Mountain

Name: 1948 Topographic Map of Black Top Mountain
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1979
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1979

About this map

White Sands Proving Ground and the Alamogordo Bombing Range dominate this 1948 survey of Sierra County, illustrating a landscape increasingly defined by military research and ordnance testing. Despite the expanding federal boundaries, the map preserves the names and locations of several working livestock operations, including the Potter Ranch and Miller Ranch Headquarters, which are set against the arid backdrop of the Hardscrabble Mountains and the northern edge of the Alkali Flat.

Mineral extraction is noted at the Black Bear Mine near Bearden Spring, while the proliferation of features like Lower Hardscrabble Spring and Rock House Well highlights the critical importance of water rights in this high-desert environment. The presence of the Ordnance Institute of Technology further emphasizes the transition of these traditional ranch lands into the specialized testing grounds of the Cold War era.