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1968 Map of Bonnie Claire SW

Name: 1968 Topographic Map of Bonnie Claire SW
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1970
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1970

About this map

Death Valley National Monument dominates the southern reaches of this landscape, marking a transition from the level expanse of Bonnie Claire Flat into the rising peaks of the Grapevine Mountains. The terrain is characterized by dramatic elevation changes, with peaks such as Helmet 7008 and Batus 6508 overlooking the dry lowlands. A network of primitive transit routes, including a Jeep Trail, winds through the canyons and across the state line between Nevada and California.

Administrative history is etched into the desert through several boundary markers, notably the Von Schmidt Line, which reflects the early efforts to survey the border. The convergence of Esmeralda, Nye, and Inyo counties within this arid territory illustrates the complex jurisdictional intersections of the late 1960s. Surveyed by the U.S. Geological Survey using 1965 aerial photography, the map preserves the exact locations of numerous bench marks like BM 4176 and BM 4104 across the flats.