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1954 Map of La Mesita Negra SE

Name: 1954 Topographic Map of La Mesita Negra SE
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1955
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1955

About this map

The Town of Atrisco Grant and Pajarito Grant dominate this mid-century landscape west of the Rio Grande valley, where historical land tenure patterns meet the emerging infrastructure of the 1950s. The survey captures a critical corridor of western travel, anchored by the iconic alignment of Route 66, which cuts through the high desert terrain. The map documents early telecommunications and aviation markers necessary for navigating this open space, including a CAA Beacon, a TV Tower, and a Radio Relay Tower.

Evidence of natural resource extraction is visible through scattered Gravel Pits and an abandoned oil well, suggesting the exploratory industry of the era. The terrain is defined by the escarpment of El Rincon, providing a sharp geographical contrast to the flatter mesa tops. This record is particularly valuable for tracing the physical footprint of Spanish land grants as they existed just before the rapid suburban expansion of the nearby metropolitan area.