1972 Map of North Mill Well

About this map

The Navajo Indian Reservation covers the northern half of this landscape, meeting the high-desert expanse of the Petrified Forest National Park along a surveyed Indian Reservation Boundary. The terrain is defined by the drainage patterns of Wide Ruin Wash, Dead Wash, and Lithodendron Wash, which cut through the arid plains toward Padres Mesa. In the 1970s, the area's infrastructure was geared toward cattle and land management, marked by numerous water catchments like North Tank, Mark 1 Tank, and Rattlesnake Tank. A remote Jeep Trail provides the primary access through the reservation land, passing a lone Drill Hole and Corral. This survey illustrates the protected Petrified Forest Wilderness at a time when the North Mill Well served as a critical localized water source in the desert.