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1956 Map of Needles

Name: 1956 Topographic Map of Needles
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1969
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1969

About this map

The Colorado River carves a critical boundary between California and Arizona, anchoring a desert landscape defined by massive dry basins and jagged ranges. This 1969 revision of a 1956 survey captures the eastern Mojave Desert as the postwar infrastructure of U.S. Highway 66 and the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe RR facilitated travel through once-formidable terrain. The map details the vast expanses of Bristol Lake and Cadiz Lake, alongside localized industrial points like the Iron Mountain Pumping Plant.

Military and conservation footprints are prominent, including the Marine Corps Base Twentynine Palms and the northern reaches of Joshua Tree National Monument. For local historians, the sheet preserves the location of remote outposts and mining sites such as Goldhammer Mine and the settlement of Old Dale, providing a clear record of human activity amidst the volcanic features of Amboy Crater and the waters of Lake Havasu.