1918 Map of Dog Mountains

About this map

The Alamo Hueco Mountains and Dog Mountains dominate this arid borderlands landscape, surveyed during the First World War in cooperation with the War Department. Life in this corner of Hidalgo County revolved around scarce water sources, evidenced by the numerous named wells and springs scattered across the Playas Valley and the mountain canyons. The map documents a ranching economy defined by isolated outposts such as Pierce Ranch and Dog Spring Ranch, which relied on improvements like Campbells Well and White Mills Wells to sustain operations near the international boundary. Many of these features, including the Stone Cabin in Cottonwood Canyon, suggest a precarious frontier existence. The United States-Mexico Boundary Line defines the southern and eastern edges of the quadrangle, marking the remote geographic limit of New Mexico during this era of early twentieth-century topographic mapping.