1971 Map of Buckhorn

About this map

Salt River flows across the northern edge of this orthophotomap, defining a sharp boundary between the dramatic desert geology and the expanding agricultural grid of the East Valley. The 1971 aerial perspective captures the complex hydraulic landscape necessary for life in the desert, tracing the Roosevelt Canal as it cuts diagonally through a mosaic of dark irrigated fields. Central to this transition is Buckhorn, where the organized rows of crops meet emerging residential developments. To the east, the terrain rises abruptly from the flat basin into the distinct volcanic profile of Spook Hill. This map provides a rare visual record of Maricopa County at a moment when traditional desert farming began to yield to the suburban sprawl that would eventually characterize the region.