1966 Map of Ninetysix Hills NE

About this map

Box O Ranch and the Helmwheel Ranch serve as the primary human outposts in this arid landscape of Pinal County, where cattle ranching operations depend on a distributed network of water catchments. The terrain is defined by the Ninetysix Hills and the Box O Hills, with the land carved by seasonal drainage systems such as Donnelly Wash, Cottonwood Wash, and Paisano Wash. Transportation through the region during the mid-1960s relied on the unpaved Barkerville Road and Lambing Camp Road, which connected isolated tanks like The Lake Tank and Beehive Tank to the larger ranching estates. The network of fences and tanks shown here illustrates the logistical challenges of high-desert ranching before significant modern development altered the area's grazing patterns.