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1944 Map of Calipatria

Name: 1944 Topographic Map of Calipatria
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1945
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1945

About this map

The Salton Sea dominates the northwest corner of this Imperial Valley landscape, its 1943 water level recorded at 241 feet below sea level. This wartime survey by the Corps of Engineers details an intricate irrigation network essential to the region's desert agriculture, including the Alamo Canal, Vail Canal, and numerous lateral branches designated by letter and location. Unusual geologic and industrial features dot the shoreline, such as the Mud Pots and Dry Ice Wells near Niland, alongside Mullet Island and Red Island.

Social and economic hubs like Calipatria and Westmorland anchor the grid of reclamation roads and rail lines. Local history is preserved through the locations of the Trifolium School and North End School, as well as the Vail Ranch and the Southern Pacific tracks. The southern reach of the Migratory Bird Refuge and the Superstition Hills provide a contrast to the heavily engineered river channels of the New River and Alamo River.