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1949 Map of Brandenburg Mtn

Name: 1949 Topographic Map of Brandenburg Mtn
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1979
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1979

About this map

Aravaipa Creek cuts a deep path through this corner of Pinal County, anchoring a landscape defined by scattered ranching outposts and high desert peaks. Surveyed in the late 1940s, the map reveals a network of remote homesteads and seasonal sites such as Painted Cave Ranch, Wagner Ranch, and Hortons Place. The topography is a maze of drainage systems, including Rattlesnake Canyon and Whitewash Canyon, which funnel toward the central creek bed.

Remote encampments like Lion Camp and Apsey Camp suggest a history of cattle driving or backcountry exploration in the shadow of Brandenburg Mtn. Small, vital water sources such as Burro Water (Spr) and Carrico Spring dot the terrain, while the curiously named Hells Half Acre marks a distinctively difficult patch of ground near Bear Springs Canyon. This map preserves the mid-century layout of these isolated ranching operations before modern development reached the more accessible portions of the Arizona desert.