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1954 Map of Hacienda Ranch NW

Name: 1954 Topographic Map of Hacienda Ranch NW
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1956
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1956

About this map

The expansive Tulare Lake Bed dominates this landscape, showing the complex system of reclamation and irrigation in the mid-1950s. Managed by the State of California and its engineers, the area is defined by a rigid grid of agricultural canals and levees designed to control the bottomlands of this ancient terminal lake. The map reveals the industrial scale of farming at South Lake Farms, supported by a dedicated Landing Strip for aerial operations.

Water management is central to the terrain, with the Gates-Jones Canal, Homeland Canal, and the Liberty Farms South Canal cutting through the lake floor. Former natural landmarks like Pelican Island are preserved as elevations within the leveed fields. This geography illustrates the mid-century transformation of the Central Valley, where a network of roads like Seattle Ave and Tehama Ave facilitated a highly organized agricultural economy on land that was once seasonally submerged.