Loading map...

1964 Map of Cotton City

Name: 1964 Topographic Map of Cotton City
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1980
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1980

About this map

Granite Gap Mountain and the surrounding high desert peaks dominate this Hidalgo County landscape as it appeared in the mid-1960s. Mining activity is prominent throughout the rocky terrain, with the Crystal Mine, Ward Mine, and Vesley Mine located near the natural pass of Granite Gap. These industrial sites are juxtaposed with the agricultural infrastructure of the Animas Valley, where scattered cattle operations like the McCarty Ranch and Weatherby Ranch depend on remote water sources such as the Richardson Windmill.

Cotton City serves as the primary small settlement on the eastern edge of the quadrangle, situated near a Cem and a local Landing Field. To the south, the terrain shifts from the steep drainage of Weatherby Canyon and Hackett Canyon toward a distinctive volcanic feature simply labeled Lava near the Washburn Ranch. The map captures a transitional era for this borderlands region, documenting the distribution of isolated ranching outposts and active mining claims before late-century changes.