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1955 Map of Old Woman Springs

Name: 1955 Topographic Map of Old Woman Springs
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1956
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1956

About this map

Old Woman Springs and its surrounding desert basin are revealed here during the mid-1950s, a landscape defined by isolated water sources and mining prospects. The transition from the flat, arid expanses of Johnson Valley and Upper Johnson Valley to the southern highlands of the San Bernardino National Forest is marked by a series of named desert springs including Two Hole Spring, One Hole Spring, and Rock Corral Spring. Evidence of early industrial activity is scattered across the terrain, with the Bessemer Mine in the north and various unnamed shafts and prospects indicating the area's mineral interest.

Water management in this high desert environment is central to the settlement pattern, anchored by Melville Lake and Parson Ranch. The topography rises sharply in the south toward Granite Peak and Tip Top Mtn, where Rattlesnake Canyon and Ruby Canyon carve into the Bighorn Mountains. This survey captures the sparse infrastructure of the era, from the wide basins of Soggy Lake and Means Lake to the complex of wells and cattle-related infrastructure like the Rock Corral.