1907 Map of Holtville

About this map

Holtville and the burgeoning irrigation systems of the Imperial Valley dominate this landscape at the dawn of the twentieth century. Surveyed by the U.S. Reclamation Service in 1905, the map documents an engineered agricultural environment where names like the Peach Ditch, Plum Ditch, and Pomelo Ditch hint at the specific citrus and stone fruit groves then taking root in the desert. The Alamo River flows through a basin that drops to 100 feet below sea level, creating a stark contrast with the massive Sand Hills rising to the east.