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1968 Map of Christmas

Name: 1968 Topographic Map of Christmas
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1986
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1986

About this map

The Christmas mining settlement and its industrial landscape dominate the western slopes of the Dripping Spring Mts in this late 1960s survey. Heavily marked by mid-century extraction, the terrain near Copper Canyon features extensive Tailings Ponds, a Conveyor system, and numerous mine workings. This industrial presence contrasts sharply with the winding Gila River, which carves a deep path through the center of the quadrangle, separating the mountainous western half from the elevated plateaus to the east.

Evidence of earlier enterprise and habitation appears along the secondary drainages and canyons. The presence of the Old Mill (Ruins) near the Two Queens Mine provides a specific point of interest for industrial archaeologists, while family-named sites like Young Ranch and Reese Ranch indicate the persistent ranching history of this corner of Arizona. The landscape transitions from the sharp relief of Lee Mountain to the high, flat reaches of The Tablelands, dotted with isolated water sources such as Apache Spring and Cottonwood Spring.