1975 Map of Orchards

About this map

Orchards and the surrounding Clark County landscape are captured here in mid-1970s detail, showing a region in the midst of suburban expansion. This orthophotoquad, produced by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U. S. Corps of Engineers, utilizes aerial photography to reveal the transition from traditional agriculture to residential development. The grid of rural fields in the north near Brush Prairie contrasts sharply with the intensifying cloverleaf interchanges and housing blocks of Vancouver to the southwest. The course of Salmon Creek meanders through the upper portion of the map, providing a natural boundary to the rectilinear parceling of the land. For researchers, this imagery offers a precise record of late-century land use, from the established settlement at Sifton to the emerging highway corridors that would define the modern metropolitan area.