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1992 Map of Niland

Name: 1992 Topographic Map of Niland
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1995
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1995

About this map

The Salton Sea shoreline dominates the western edge of this landscape, where the Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge meets a strictly ordered agricultural grid. This 1990s revision reveals the complex irrigation system of the Imperial Valley, with an alphabetical series of drains and laterals—from U Lateral Drain 31 down to H Drain 3—channeling water toward the sea. The map documents the industrial and civic infrastructure supporting the region, including the Carbon Dioxide Wells near the shore and the prominent Calipatria State Prison complex to the southeast.

Transportation and utility networks are anchored by the Southern Pacific railroad line, which connects the primary settlements of Niland and Calipatria. The transition from the wetland environments of the Imperial State Wildlife Area (Wister Unit) to the municipal developments of Calipatria Municipal Airport illustrates the unique tension between conservation and desert reclamation in this below-sea-level basin.