1948 Map of Chihuahua Ranch

About this map

White Sands and the surrounding high desert of New Mexico appear here during a transformative era of military and scientific expansion. The landscape is partitioned by significant defensive boundaries, including the Alamogordo Bombing Range, the White Sands Proving Ground, and the California Institute of Technology Ordnance Proving Ground. These military installations overlay an older pastoral and industrial geography, where cattle operations like Barnes Ranch, Chihuahua Ranch, and Sprole Ranch relied on scattered water sources such as Rentfro Well and Murray Well. Dramatic terrain features like the Chupadera Mesa and Lava Bed dominate the topography, while the presence of the Southern Pacific railroad and the Oscura Coal Mine (Abandoned) in the southeast corner point to the region's earlier commercial roots.