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1959 Map of Fire Mountain

Name: 1959 Topographic Map of Fire Mountain
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1960
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1960

About this map

Nelsons Landing sits along the western shore of Lake Mohave, marking a point of human activity where the desert meets the managed waters of the Colorado River. This late-1950s survey documents a landscape defined by industrial history and recreation, situated within the Lake Mohave National Recreation Area. Evidence of extraction is scattered across the Nevada side of the river, with prospects, a shaft, and a tunnel located near Capital Camp, suggesting the area's legacy of mining.

The rugged eastern terrain is dominated by the volcanic profile of Fire Mountain in Arizona, while the western drainage system is shaped by significant cuts like Eldorado Canyon and Techatticup Wash. A small cemetery near the landing provides a tangible link to the early inhabitants of this river-bound outpost. The map preserves the transition of the Colorado River valley into a reservoir system, caught between its wild mining past and its emergence as a federal recreation zone.