1971 Map of Desert Well

About this map

Desert Proving Grounds and its distinctive circular tracks dominate the arid landscape in this orthophotoquad, captured at a moment when the desert was beginning to yield to organized agriculture. The southern half of the map reveals a stark contrast, where the scrubland gives way to a grid of irrigated fields that stretch toward the Rittenhouse Air Force Auxiliary Field. This transition from the open range of Desert Well to intensive land use is intersected by the winding path of Siphon Draw, a natural drainage that cuts through the northern terrain. The aerial imagery provides a rare literal look at the physical boundaries between military testing sites and the expanding rural farming footprint in Pinal and Maricopa counties during the early 1970s.