1982 Map of Borrego Valley

About this map

The Anza-Borrego Desert State Park dominates the eastern half of this 1982 landscape, where the transition from high forest to desert floor is sharply defined. Centered on the Valle De San Jose (Portilla) and the Lake Henshaw reservoir, the map documents a complex network of tribal lands including the Santa Ysabel Indian Reservation and Los Coyotes Indian Reservation. Settlement patterns are concentrated in pockets like Borrego Springs and Warner Springs, while the rugged southern terrain reveals the industrial traces of the Desert Queen Mine and the path of the San Diego and Arizona Eastern RR through the mountains. To the east, the Borrego Badlands and the edge of the Salton Sea illustrate the arid lower elevations of the Colorado Desert. This 1:100,000 scale view provides a high-level perspective of Southern California's interior before the intensification of modern development.