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1973 Map of Leuhman Ridge

Name: 1973 Topographic Map of Leuhman Ridge
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1976
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1976

About this map

Edwards Air Force Base occupies the majority of this high-desert landscape in the early 1970s, dominated by the sprawling operations of the Air Force Flight Test Center. The terrain is punctuated by the prominent Leuhman Ridge, which serves as a literal and figurative high point for military research, housing the Rocket Propulsion Laboratory and various specialized facilities like an Observation Tower and a Heliport. The infrastructure here reflects a landscape dedicated to aerospace development, where Mars Blvd and Mercury Blvd connect remote installations to the outside world.

To the north, the civilian town of Boron provides a sharp contrast, situated along the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. This area, bordered by the Kern Co San Bernardino Co line, shows the proximity of mining and community life to restricted military zones. Researchers can trace the web of pipelines and the US Government Railroad as they navigate the transition between the commercial transport of the Mojave and the high-security aerospace testing grounds.