1963 Map of Oak Spring

About this map

The Navajo Indian Reservation landscape is defined here by dramatic high-desert mesas and deep-cutting canyons, mapped in detail during the early 1960s. High points such as Red Mesa, Black Mesa, and Ram Mesa tower above the southern drainage of the Puerco River, which flows through the bottom of the sheet. The terrain is marked by a network of seasonal water sources and landmarks essential to the local environment, including Oak Spring, Dog Spring, and Rock Spring. A long Pipeline and several primitive Jeep Trails represent the limited modern infrastructure of the era, traversing the dissected plateaus and canyons like Pinetree Canyon and Running Edge Canyon. A notable localized industrial feature is the Coal Well located in the northern reaches, indicating the subsurface resource extraction that influenced the regional economy during this period.