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1970 Map of Needles

Name: 1970 Topographic Map of Needles
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1977
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1977

About this map

The Colorado River serves as the central artery for this desert borderland, defining the boundary between California and Arizona as it flows through the Mohave Valley. The town of Needles is the primary hub, showing a concentrated street grid and established infrastructure like the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad and the Needles Municipal Airport. Residential areas such as Colorado Vista and Riverview extend from the central core toward the river's edge, where leisure and industry meet at the Needles Golf Course and nearby Gravel Pits.

Broad expanses of the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation dominate the northern and eastern portions of the map, while the southern reaches are characterized by the aquatic ecosystems of the Havasu Lake National Wildlife Refuge. This protected area includes notable water bodies like Threemile Lake, Beal Lake, and the curiously named The Glory Hole. The landscape transitions from the river's floodplains into the Sand Dunes and the vast Topock Marsh, illustrating the complex management of water resources in a region where state lines and reservation boundaries frequently overlap.