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2013 Map of Mesa

Name: 2013 Topographic Map of Mesa
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2013
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2013

About this map

Mesa and the high plains of the Chaves County border define this ranching landscape in southeastern New Mexico. The geography is characterized by essential water management for livestock, as evidenced by a network of catchments such as Shortys Tank, Big Tank, and the curiously named Bomb Target Tank. These small reservoirs are scattered across the drainage basins of the Middle Fork Fivemile Draw and West Fork Fivemile Draw, which eventually feed toward the Fifteenmile Arroyo in the southwest.

Remote family operations like the C H Lewis Ranch and J M Lewis Ranch are connected by a grid of dirt roads including Stargrass Rd and Cat Rd. The prominent elevation of Poquita Mesa rises in the northeast corner of the sheet, while the southern reaches are marked by more dissected terrain around Burts Canyon and Buck Springs. This survey documents the intersection of large-scale land management and the sparse, infrastructure-dependent settlement pattern of the modern West.