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1896 Map of El Paso

Name: 1896 Topographic Map of El Paso
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1901
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1901

About this map

The Rio Grande serves as the focal point of this late nineteenth-century borderlands survey, defining the international boundary between El Paso and Juarez. The map illustrates a landscape in transition, where established agricultural settlements like Ysleta, Socorro, and San Elizario are joined by the expanding infrastructure of the Southern Pacific Railroad and the White Oaks R.R.. The presence of Fort Bliss and its accompanying Military Reservation underscores the strategic importance of this pass through the Franklin Mountains.

Away from the river corridor, the arid basins are marked by isolated outposts and water sources critical for ranching and travel, such as Tysons Ranch and the distinctive Hueco Tanks. To the east, the Hueco Mountains rise sharply, while the southern valley exhibits a network of irrigation through the Canal. This survey records the region just before the rapid urban expansion of the twentieth century, preserving the locations of smaller stations like Rivera and San Elizario Station.