2021 Map of Gadsden

About this map

Gadsden and the northern edge of San Luis occupy a landscape defined by an intricate network of irrigation infrastructure along the international boundary. This portion of the Yuma Desert has been transformed by a dense grid of water management features, including the Noe Canal and Pesch Canal, which feed numerous named laterals. The spatial arrangement of these laterals, such as Barkley Lateral and Larkin Lateral, reveals a highly engineered agricultural environment where the desert floor is segmented by a precise grid of county roads. The western margin of the sheet is dominated by the winding course of the United States and Mexico border, following the natural riverine geography that contrasts sharply with the rigid, human-made geometry of the town sites and irrigation channels to the east.