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1954 Map of Burnt Mesa

Name: 1954 Topographic Map of Burnt Mesa
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1973
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1973

About this map

The Los Pinos River corridor defines this northern New Mexico landscape, shown here as it transitioned during the mid-20th century. The arrival of the Navajo Reservoir is the central geographical shift, with purple photorevisions from 1971 illustrating the water's extent at an elevation of 6,085 feet. This flooding fundamentally altered access to the numerous canyons branching off the river, such as Garcia Canyon and Wilmer Canyon.

Evidence of early ranching and homesteading is scattered across the mesa and canyon floors, though many sites like Garcia Place and Ulibarri Place were already noted as abandoned by the mid-1950s. Local infrastructure is represented by the Benito Sch and a remote Landing Strip near the Lucero Place. To the south, the San Juan River cuts through the terrain, while landmarks like Hole in Rock provide specific points of interest for those tracing the historical geography of San Juan County.