1955 Map of Goat Mountain

About this map

Goat Mountain and the high desert terrain of San Bernardino County define this landscape during the mid-1950s, a period when much of this territory was allocated for the Naval Marine Corps Training Center Reservation. The map details a transition in land use, showing the intersection of military boundary lines with older traces of human activity. Resource extraction and prospecting are evident through numerous Prospects and a Mine Tunnel located on the southern slopes of the mountain itself. Transport through this arid environment relied on established routes like Giant Rock Road, while water sources were critical markers for survival and operation, including Surprise Spring and several named wells. This survey, updated with aerial data from the mid-1970s, documents the sparse but intentional development of the Mojave desert before modern expansion.