1988 Map of Gold Center

About this map

Gold Center (Site) sits at the northern edge of the Amargosa Desert, marking a point of transition between the river valley and the arid expanses of the high desert. The map captures the course of the ephemeral Amargosa River as it passes east of Beatty Airfield, supported by a local Levee system. This 1980s landscape is defined by its transit and infrastructure history, visible in the Old RR Grade and the prominent Transmission Line cutting across the desert floor. Historical surveyors will find interest in the Von Schmidt Line (1873), which delineates the historic border between Nevada and California. To the southwest, the boundary of Death Valley National Monument begins, while evidence of extraction persists in several Prospect sites and a Borrow Pit near the river.