1975 Map of Indio

About this map

The agricultural landscape of the Coachella Valley is captured here in sharp detail during the mid-1970s, revealing the dense patchwork of irrigated fields that drove the regional economy. Centered on the growing hub of Indio, the orthophotoquad format provides a rare photographic perspective of the desert floor being transformed by industrial-scale farming. To the southeast, the smaller settlements of Coachella and Thermal appear as concentrated hubs amidst the grid of orchards and crops, illustrating the stark line between the green valley floor and the arid Indio Hills to the north. This document, produced by the Geological Survey in cooperation with the Soil Conservation Service, serves as a precise record of land use and irrigation patterns before the significant suburban expansion of later decades.