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1996 Map of Malpais Hill

Name: 1996 Topographic Map of Malpais Hill
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2002
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2002

About this map

The United States-Mexico international boundary defines the southern edge of this Chihuahuan Desert landscape, where the flat basin meets the southern foothills of the Tres Hermanas Mountains. Cattle ranching infrastructure dominates the high desert terrain, marked by isolated outposts like Dogtown Ranch, Edwards Ranch, and Line Ranch. Water management is central to life here, evidenced by numerous man-made features such as Hoppy Tank, Simpson Well, and a variety of unnamed tanks and wells scattered across the drainages of Simpson Draw and Hermanas Draw.

A notable historical corridor, the Old Railroad Grade, cuts horizontally across the map, tracing a legacy of early southwestern transportation that once bypassed Malpais Hill and the dark Lava flows. The elevation rises toward the northeast corner at Black Top, providing a stark contrast to the southern plains. This area captures the stark reality of the borderlands before the turn of the twenty-first century, preserving the locations of specific ranching sites and the skeletal remains of the region's railroad history.