1947 Map of Mt. Mesa

About this map

Rogers Lake dominates the northwest corner of this 1947 survey, its expansive dry bed serving as a natural foundation for the Muroc Army Airfield Military Reservation. This landscape is a stark portrait of the High Mojave Desert just after World War II, showing a transition from open desert to intensive military use. The map captures several isolated human markers, including a Lookout Tower in the northeast and unnamed Ruins near the summit of Mt. Mesa. The network of unimproved dirt roads and trails suggests a period when the area was still being surveyed and secured for aerospace testing. The terrain is marked by significant elevation changes, rising from the flat lakebed toward the prominent peaks in the south, providing a clear record of the area's geography before the extensive infrastructure of the modern Edwards Air Force Base era.