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1962 Map of Fresno

Name: 1962 Topographic Map of Fresno
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1968
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1968

About this map

Mount Whitney towers over the Sierra Nevada range in this 1960s study of the Central Valley and its eastern mountain barrier. The geography is defined by a massive irrigation network, tracing the flow of the Kings River, San Joaquin River, and Tule River into the agricultural heartland. On the valley floor, the extent of the Tulare Lake Bed remains visible alongside man-made landmarks like Friant Dam and the Lemoore U.S. Naval Air Station.

Transit patterns are dominated by the Southern Pacific RR and Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe RR, which link established hubs like Fresno, Visalia, and Hanford. To the east, the map details the high wilderness of Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park, showing the dramatic elevation drop into the Owens Valley and the arid Inyo Mountains. The transition from the densely gridded farmlands of Fresno County to the jagged peaks of the Great Western Divide illustrates the mid-century intersection of industrial agriculture and federal wilderness preservation.