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1912 Map of Ivanpah

Name: 1912 Topographic Map of Ivanpah
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1951
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1951

About this map

Mining operations and early railroad corridors define this 1912 survey of the high desert along the California-Nevada border. The map documents a critical period of industrial extraction, showing a dense cluster of claims including the Potosi Mine, Yellow Pine Mine, and the Copper World Mine near Vanderbilt. These remote outposts were linked by the San Pedro Los Angeles and Salt Lake RR and the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe RR, which serviced junction towns like Barnwell and Kelso.

Evidence of the region's difficult travel history is visible in the paths of the Old Government Road and the Old Traction Road, which navigated the gaps between the Kingston Range and the McCullough Range. The landscape is dotted with essential water sources like Pachalka Spr and Francis Spr, while an abandoned copper smelter near Valley Wells marks the shifting fortunes of the local mining economy.