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2023 Map of Hernandez Lake

Name: 2023 Topographic Map of Hernandez Lake
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2023
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2023

About this map

The De Baca Co and Chaves Co border divides this high-desert ranching landscape, where survival is dictated by the collection and movement of water. Arid terrain is punctuated by a network of natural and man-made catchments, from the larger Salt Lake and Hernandez Lake in the northern reaches to specialized basins like Windy Smith Tank and Grandpa Tank further south. These features, along with Lewis Lake, highlight the essential infrastructure of a working New Mexico landscape where water management defines property use.

Transportation is marked by remote corridors such as Co RD 4 and Co RD 26, which cut through the drainage patterns of Salt Draw and Hernandez Draw. The presence of numerous named tanks, including McDowell Tank and Reese Tank, suggests a region deeply tied to livestock and grazing. In the southeast, Van Eaton Draw and Olive Rd provide evidence of the topography shaping local movement through this sparsely populated corner of New Mexico.