1968 Map of Brown Summit NW

About this map

Big Sand Springs Valley and the Little Smoky Valley dominate this Great Basin landscape, separated by the high elevations of the Pancake Range. Surveyed in the late 1960s, the map reveals a remote Nevada interior defined by vast alluvial basins and steep peaks such as Moody Mountain. Human presence is sparse, marked primarily by a network of unimproved roads and a Jeep Trail that climbs through the high country. In the southeast corner, the Brown Summit Reservoir stands as a vital water source in an otherwise arid environment. The map captures the area just after photogrammetric methods from 1967 aerial photography were used by the U.S. Geological Survey to document this isolated section of Nye County, illustrating the intersection of modern cartography and a rugged, undeveloped frontier.