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1982 Map of Coso Peak

Name: 1982 Topographic Map of Coso Peak
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1983
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1983

About this map

China Lake Naval Weapons Center dominates this high-altitude Inyo County landscape, where restrictive boundaries signify the modern military use of an area once defined by remote mining and vital water sources. The map identifies the historic location of Coso (Site), appearing here as a site of archaeological and genealogical interest near the Josephine Mine and various unnamed prospects. The reliance on scattered water sources is evident through the naming of numerous springs, including Indian Gardens Springs, Mill Spring, and Chappo Spring, which likely dictated the movement of early prospectors and settlers.

Industrial activity is traced through features like the Josephine Mine and Mariposa Mine Canyon, while the geography is anchored by the prominent elevations of Coso Peak and Silver Peak. The presence of Dead End Cabin and various 4WD tracks suggests a terrain that was difficult to navigate, even as late as the early 1980s, reflecting a pocket of the California desert where habitation was sparse and heavily tied to resource extraction.