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1971 Map of Maxwell

Name: 1971 Topographic Map of Maxwell
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1974
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1974

About this map

The town of Maxwell sits at the heart of a sophisticated irrigation network in the early 1970s, bounded by the historic Beaubien and Miranda Grant. This landscape is defined by its water management, featuring a dense grid of canals and ditches such as the Eagle Tail Lateral, Highline Ditch, and Red River Ditch. These waterways feed a series of numbered reservoirs, including Lake No 13 and Lake No 12, which now comprise the Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge.

Evidence of the area's transit history is visible where the modern Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe railroad tracks run nearly parallel to the historic Santa Fe Trail. Beyond the town center, rural life is marked by the Red River School to the northeast and the Cem just south of the main settlement. The Canadian River and Vermejo River frame the eastern and southern reaches, while numerous arroyos like Loco Arroyo and Kappis Arroyo cut through the terrain.