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1937 Map of Hughes Lake

Name: 1937 Topographic Map of Hughes Lake
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1937
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1937

About this map

The San Andreas Rift Zone forms the dominant structural axis of this 1937 survey, cutting a distinctive diagonal through the high country of the Angeles National Forest. Along this seismic depression, a series of sag ponds and valley settlements established a remote corridor of ranching and early mountain commerce. The map centers on the community of Lake Hughes P.O. and the waters of Hughes Lake and Elizabeth Lake, where topography and water rights dictated the placement of homesteads like Munz Ranch.

Tracing the drainage patterns of San Francisquito Creek and Elizabeth Lake Canyon reveals a landscape defined by sharp elevation shifts, from the heights of Sawmill Mountain and Jupiter Mountain to the flatlands of Juday Flat. The presence of the Pine Canyon County Patrol Sta. and primitive routes like Pine Canyon Road illustrate the mid-century infrastructure required to manage these forested canyons long before the region's modern suburban expansion.