1948 Map of Desert SW

About this map

Tularosa Valley dominates this arid landscape at the edge of the New Mexico-Texas border. The map captures a quiet, utilitarian expanse of the high desert during the late 1940s, where survival was tied to scattered water sources like the Pit Tank and Windmill. This survey was compiled from aerial photography by the Army Air Force and field edited in 1947, revealing the infrastructure of the Fort Bliss Military Reservation in the northwestern corner. The McCracken Ranch serves as a primary marker of human habitation in a region otherwise defined by terrain features such as Davis Dome and the remnants of an Abandoned Well. The presence of the Southern Pacific railroad line cutting through the north highlights the vital transportation corridor connecting these remote desert reaches to the broader American West.