1973 Map of Leuhman Ridge

About this map

Edwards Air Force Flight Test Center dominates this landscape, reflecting the peak of Cold War aerospace research in the California desert. The prominent volcanic spine of Leuhman Ridge serves as the foundation for the sprawling Rocket Propulsion Laboratory, while a complex network of US Government Railroad lines and utility corridors like Mercury Blvd and Mars Blvd crisscross the arid terrain. To the north, the town of Boron marks the civilian edge of this high-tech military zone, sitting adjacent to the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe tracks and Mule Team Road. The map documents a sophisticated infrastructure of tracking stations, radio facilities, and targets used for high-altitude testing. Traces of earlier desert history appear in the Old RR Grade and numerous sandpits and borrow pits that suggest the massive earth-moving efforts required to maintain this remote facility.