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1955 Map of Hope NE

Name: 1955 Topographic Map of Hope NE
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1979
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1979

About this map

The high plains of the Pecos River Valley are defined here by a sparse network of water management and light aviation in the mid-1950s. The landscape is bisected by the North Cottonwood Creek and South Cottonwood Creek, which feed into a system of irrigation channels simply labeled Ditch. These water sources were critical to the arid ranching environment spanning the Chaves and Eddy County line.

Evidence of local industry and infrastructure appears in isolated pockets, such as the Nelson Landing Field and a dedicated Gravel Pit. The importance of groundwater monitoring is signaled by the Childress Recorder Well (USGS), while numerous windmills and wells dot the terrain, marking individual homesteads or livestock watering points. This survey, based on 1947 aerial photography and 1955 field work, preserves the layout of these remote New Mexico outposts before modern developments altered the water-scarce landscape.