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1972 Map of Fence Lake SW

Name: 1972 Topographic Map of Fence Lake SW
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1976
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1976

About this map

Santa Rita Mesa dominates the high ground of this western New Mexico landscape, a region defined by its critical water sources and ranching history in the early 1970s. The map illustrates a reliance on scattered water points, ranging from the historic Old Santa Rita Springs and New Santa Rita Springs to mechanical improvements like the Medanoso Windmill and Espejeda Windmill. These features indicate the persistent effort to sustain livestock in an arid environment where drainage patterns like Largo Draw and Tejana Draw provide only seasonal relief.

Local infrastructure is concentrated along Hubbell Road, leading toward the Cox Ranch. Evidence of earlier habitation is marked by several locations simply labeled Ruins, alongside a small Cem near Nicolas Spring. The boundary between Valencia and Catron Counties cuts across the northern half of the map, while the Nations land area sits to the south, reflecting the complex layering of private and public land management at the time of the survey.