1981 Map of Fairview Mountain

About this map

White Sands Missile Range occupies the vast majority of this 1981 landscape, reflecting the military's significant footprint in the New Mexico desert during the late twentieth century. The terrain is defined by the stark rise of Fairview Mountain in the northeast and the Poison Hills to the southwest. Scattered throughout this restricted territory are remnants of earlier land use, including multiple unidentified ruins and several small mining excavations labeled simply as Prospect. Water resources, vital in this arid environment, are limited to man-made catchments and deep sources such as Martin Tank, Ladder Tank, Martin Well, and Brown Well. These features, along with the boundary between Socorro and Sierra Counties, suggest a history of ranching and prospecting that predates the establishment of the military range.