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1918 Map of Bullis Gap

Name: 1918 Topographic Map of Bullis Gap
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1984
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1984

About this map

Isolated ranchsteads and remote water sources define this Chihuahuan Desert landscape along the United States-Mexico border during the First World War era. Surveyed in 1917 by T.G. Gerdine and R.H. Reineck, the map captures a trans-Pecos region of Brewster County where survival depended on named tanks and canyon springs. Early cattle and goat operations are documented through holdings like Clark Ranch, Schupbachs Ranch, and the Valdez Goat Camp.

The rugged Bullis Gap Range dominates the southern half of the quadrangle, through which the historic Bullis Trail winds toward the Rio Grande. Hydrological features like the San Francisco Shutups and numerous livestock catchments, including Little Crenshaw Tank and Britton Tank, illustrate the precarious nature of water management in this arid territory. The map serves as a primary record of the families and frontier dwellings, such as Stuart Place and Espanol House, that once occupied these canyons.