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1960 Map of Clark Lake

Name: 1960 Topographic Map of Clark Lake
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1962
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1962

About this map

Borrego Springs serves as the central hub for this desert landscape, characterized by its unique circular street pattern at Christmas Circle and nascent mid-century resort developments like the De Anza Desert Country Club and Borrego Palms Resort. The map documents a transition from pioneer-era landmarks to modern infrastructure, where the Borrego Valley Airport and Borrego Sch sit near sites of earlier significance, including the El Vado Historical Marker and the Pegleg Smith Historical Marker.

Water remains the primary architect of settlement here, with the life-giving Coyote Creek feeding riparian outposts at Middle Willows and Lower Willows. Rugged canyons like Sheep Canyon, home to a Sheep Canyon Ranger Station, cut through the Santa Rosa Mountains and San Ysidro Mtn. The vast expanse of Clark Lake and the Borrego Badlands highlight the extreme topography that defined the boundaries of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park during its post-war growth.