1948 Map of Desert

About this map

Fort Bliss Military Reservation dominates this 1940s landscape, illustrating the mid-century expansion of military land use in the high basin of the Tularosa Valley. The map focuses on the transit corridor through this arid terrain, anchored by the Southern Pacific railroad line which runs diagonally through the reservation. Small, isolated railway stops such as Desert and Alvarado serve as the primary points of human settlement, likely functioning as maintenance or water points for the locomotives. Geologic features like the Three Buttes rise from the valley floor, providing rare landmarks in an otherwise open expanse dotted with intermittent lakes and watering points like Alvarado Tank No 1. This planimetric study, revised from Army Air Force photography, captures the stark utility of the region just after the war.