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1940 Map of Kane Spring

Name: 1940 Topographic Map of Kane Spring
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1963
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1963

About this map

The southwest shore of the Salton Sea dominates this 1940 aerial survey, where desert reclamation and infrastructure meet the encroaching waters of the basin. At the time of this survey, the water surface sat at 241 feet below sea level, shaping the recreational and environmental margins at Sea View Beach and Sandy Beach. The arid interior is defined by intermittent drainages like San Felipe Creek and Tule Wash, which cut through the West Mesa toward the Superstition Hills.

Evidence of early 20th-century desert industry is scattered throughout the landscape, from the Diamond Bar Test Well to the Pacific Portland Cement rail line in the south. Settled life clings to water sources and road junctions, most notably at the Kane Spring station and the Roosevelt Sch serving the Elmore Desert Ranch. These landmarks, along with remote outposts like Harpers Well, reveal the hard-won human presence in the Lower Borrego Valley.