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1980 Map of Otero Mesa North

Name: 1980 Topographic Map of Otero Mesa North
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1980
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1980

About this map

Otero Mesa defines the high-desert landscape of this southern New Mexico quadrangle, where the land is primarily managed for defense and grazing. The majority of the terrain is occupied by the Fort Bliss Military Reservation (Mcgregor Range), a vast tactical training ground. Evidence of military infrastructure includes a remote Landing Strip positioned on the flat mesa surface.

Surface water is scarce and seasonal, recorded through a network of drainage systems like Pendejo Wash, Wildcat Draw, and Rough Canyon. Human activity in this arid environment is most visible through the distribution of water management features used for cattle or local needs. These include Road Tanks, Double Tanks, Broke Tanks, Godfrey Tank, and West Tanks, which represent the critical infrastructure required to sustain life and operations in this high-altitude desert during the late twentieth century.