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1950 Map of Needles

Name: 1950 Topographic Map of Needles
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1968
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1968

About this map

The Colorado River defines this landscape, separating the California desert from the Fort Mohave Indian Reservation and the Arizona borderlands. In the 1950s, the city of Needles serves as the central hub, where the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railway meets the National Old Trails Road. This era shows the region’s reliance on the river’s complex hydraulics, evidenced by named sloughs like Japanese Slough and Harpers Slough, and the expansive Havasu Lake National Wildlife Refuge.

Beyond the river valley, the topography rises sharply into the Dead Mountains and Sacramento Mountains. Evidence of early 20th-century industry persists at the Mingus Mine (Inactive) and Red Spr, while ranching remains a presence at Soto Ranch and Ross Ranch. Local infrastructure is marked by both the Riverview Airport and the larger Needles Municipal Airport, alongside critical river monitoring points like the Gaging Sta.