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1951 Map of Cotton Center

Name: 1951 Topographic Map of Cotton Center
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1955
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1955

About this map

Cotton Center and the Enterprise Ranch represent the mid-century agricultural footprint along the lower Gila River in Maricopa County. The desert landscape is defined by the critical irrigation infrastructure of the Enterprise Canal and the Gila Bend Canal, which supported settlement between the Buckeye Hills and the Maricopa Mountains.

Evidence of earlier transport networks is preserved in the trace of the Butterfield Stage Route, which crosses the southern reaches of the quadrangle near the Gila Bend Indian Reservation. This survey captures a transitional era of western development where historic overland trails met modern aviation, as seen at the Airstrip near the river banks. The terrain of the Rainbow Valley and Gila Bend Mountains highlights the stark contrast between the fertile river bottom and the surrounding arid basins.