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1963 Map of Hard Ground Flats

Name: 1963 Topographic Map of Hard Ground Flats
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1967
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1967

About this map

Navajo Indian Reservation lands dominate this mid-century landscape, defined by a complex network of branching canyons and high mesas. The topography is intricately detailed, showing the eroded terrain of Grey Ridge and the deep incisions of Pumpkin Canyon, Window Rock Canyon, and the curiously named Mexican Cooking Canyon. At the center of the sheet, Hard Ground Flats provides a rare level expanse amidst the vertical relief of the surrounding drainages.

Water sources are vital and scarce in this environment, marked by the Red Water Pond and Well Spring near the center of the quadrangle. In the south, the Puerco River flows past Ram Mesa, while evidence of human history is preserved in the noted Ruins situated near Peach Spring Canyon. A single Pipeline crosses the southern reaches, indicating modern infrastructure intruding upon this high-desert territory.