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1967 Map of Haystack Butte

Name: 1967 Topographic Map of Haystack Butte
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1971
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1971

About this map

Haystack Butte and its smaller counterpart, Little Haystack, dominate this arid Chaves County landscape, where survival and industry are defined by sparse water sources. The 1967 survey reveals a network of remote ranching operations, including the South Van Eaton Ranch and the Chatten-Muncy Ranch, connected by unimproved dirt tracks and the prominent north-south Olive Road.

Water management is the most striking human imprint on the terrain, evidenced by a dense distribution of tanks and wells such as Sulphur Well, Lucky Strike Well, and the ironically named Expensive Tank. Natural features like the Bosque and Ramadge Lake provide rare breaks in the dry topography, while a modern pipeline cuts across the desert floor. This map captures the working life of the High Plains before modern consolidation, preserving the locations of specific windmills and family-named cattle tanks that have long supported the region's livestock economy.