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1940 Map of Iris

Name: 1940 Topographic Map of Iris
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1956
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1956

About this map

The Southern Pacific railroad corridor anchors the desert landscape of this 1940 survey, connecting isolated stops like Iris, Tortuga, and Amos along the edge of the Chocolate Mountains. This arid terrain stands in stark contrast to the emerging agricultural grid in the southwest corner of the map. Here, water infrastructure including the East Highline Canal and the Alamo River facilitates a dense network of farm roads named for botanicals, such as Magnolia Road and Narcissus Road.

Evidence of rural life and early development is visible in the cluster around Wiest and the Mulberry Sch, while much of the eastern portion is dominated by the Sand Hills and the US Naval Reservation, which served as the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range. The juxtaposition of these military and agricultural zones illustrates the varying utility of the Imperial Valley's desert environment during the pre-war period.