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1957 Map of Box Canyon Ranch

Name: 1957 Topographic Map of Box Canyon Ranch
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1979
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1979

About this map

Cass Ranch and the namesake Box Canyon Ranch anchor this landscape of the High Plains in Eddy County, as documented through planetable surveys in the late 1950s. The terrain is defined by a dense network of intermittent drainage channels, including the evocatively named Strychnine Draw, Cat Claw Draw, and the extensive North Prong Long Draw. These draws converge toward the dramatic relief of Box Canyon and Little Box Canyon in the southern portion of the quadrangle.

Water management and resource extraction appear as isolated outposts in this arid environment, evidenced by the South Well and a solitary Oil Well. The map captures a moment when ranching infrastructure was the primary human imprint on the land, with topographical details reflecting the complex erosion patterns of the Chihuahuan Desert fringe. The absence of major settlements highlights the remote character of these ranching operations during the mid-20th century.