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1938 Map of Colfax

Name: 1938 Topographic Map of Colfax
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1941
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1941

About this map

Deep gold-mining country and high Sierra ridges define this region during the 1930s, anchored by the heavy industrial presence of the Sixteen to One Mine and the timber operations at Phippen Sawmill. The landscape is carved by the deep canyons of the Middle Fork Yuba River and the American River, where historic hydraulic mining sites like Dutch Flat and Gold Run reveal the long-standing mineral economy of the Mother Lode.

Modern infrastructure of the era is visible in the Southern Pacific rail line and the specialized aviation facilities including the Blue Canyon BM & Landing Field and the Emigrant Gap Airway Beacon. For the local historian, the map preserves the locations of early rural infrastructure, from the North Columbia Sch to the remote ranger outposts at Columbia Hill Ranger Sta and North Bloomfield Ranger Station, marking a period when forest management and resource extraction dictated the settlement patterns of Placer and Nevada counties.