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1968 Map of Meteor Crater

Name: 1968 Topographic Map of Meteor Crater
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1983
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1983

About this map

Meteor Crater dominates the southeastern portion of this Coconino County survey, where a museum and nearby sandpits mark the rim of the world-famous impact site. The landscape is defined by the deep incision of Canyon Diablo, which winds through the central plateau toward the northwestern corner. This arid terrain relied heavily on water management for ranching and transit, evidenced by numerous named improvements such as Chilson Tank, Horse Pasture Tank, and the Canyon Diablo Well.

To the north, the industrial footprint of the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe railroad passes through Sunshine, a critical transit point supported by radio facilities and a substation. Cultural history is visible in the scattered remnants of earlier habitation, including The Rock House and several unnamed ruins perched near the rim of Wagon Box Draw. These features together illustrate a high-desert economy built around the railroad and livestock water rights in the late 1960s and early 1980s.