1942 Map of Cactus Range

About this map

Tonopah Gunnery Range dominates this landscape, defining a period when the high desert of Nye County was rapidly transitioned for military use. Compiled during the early years of World War II, this survey shows the Military Reservation Boundary cutting across the north and south, enclosing vast stretches of the Cactus Range and Cactus Flat. Within this secured zone, former outposts and watering holes like Golden Arrow, Reeds Ranch, and Mellan appear alongside several established springs. To the south, isolated settlements such as Trappmans Camp sit near Mount Helen, while the terrain is marked by the dry expanses of Stonewall Flat and Ralston Valley. The presence of Gold mining and a network of wells and tanks indicates the earlier ranching and prospecting history that existed before the area's designation for aerial gunnery practice.