1963 Map of Dead Horse Flat

About this map

The Nellis Air Force Range and the Nevada Test Site dominate this 1963 survey of Nye County, Nevada. Published during the height of the Cold War in cooperation with the Atomic Energy Commission, the map details a landscape defined by military and nuclear research boundaries rather than civilian settlements. The terrain is characterized by a complex network of drainages, including Silent Canyon and its tributaries, North Silent Canyon and South Silent Canyon, which carve through the high desert. To the north, the relatively level expanse of Dead Horse Flat sits adjacent to Basket Valley, providing a stark contrast to the deep incisions of Grass Spring Canyon and Lambs Canyon. This map serves as a primary record of federal land use and topographical study in one of the most restricted areas of the American West.