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1972 Map of Mesita De Yeso

Name: 1972 Topographic Map of Mesita De Yeso
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1976
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1976

About this map

Mesita De Yeso rises above a landscape defined by ranching infrastructure and intermittent drainages in this early 1970s western New Mexico survey. The distribution of water sources is the primary indicator of land use, marked by a network of named windmills such as the High Lonesome Windmill, Trujillo Windmill, and East Joe Windmill. These features, alongside several unnamed water tanks, highlight the critical importance of groundwater for cattle in an arid environment.

The terrain is deeply dissected by seasonal watercourses like Guillermo Canyon, Trujillo Draw, and Pinitos Draw, which converge toward the south near Cañon Ancho. Evidence of localized industry appears near the center of the map at the Gravel Pits, located just east of the mesa. Fine dashed lines across the sheet indicate fence lines, illustrating the division of the open range during this era of New Mexico history.