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1946 Map of Gravelly Ford

Name: 1946 Topographic Map of Gravelly Ford
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1962
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1962

About this map

The San Joaquin River snakes through the heart of this landscape, marking the boundary between Madera and Fresno Counties. Revised in the mid-1940s, the terrain shows a highly managed hydraulic environment defined by the Aliso Canal, the Enterprise Canal, and the Gravelly Ford Canal. These waterways supported the sprawling agricultural operations of the Gravelly Ford Ranch and the livestock interests at Cottonwood Cow Camp.

North of the river, a rigid grid of rural roads begins to take shape, including Shepherd Avenue and Ripperdan Avenue, while the Sunset Sch stands as a focal point for the local farming community. The presence of numerous windmills and sections of Canal (Abandoned) suggest a landscape in transition, where earlier water management systems were being superseded by more permanent irrigation infrastructure along the Cottonwood Creek drainage.