1985 Map of Parker

About this map

The Colorado River serves as the central artery for this desert landscape, defining the border between Arizona and California. Upstream from Parker, the river is backed up behind the Parker Dam to form Lake Havasu, a critical water resource that supports the Colorado River Aqueduct heading west. The region is heavily marked by industrial and mining history, with a high concentration of claims including the Alice Mine, Jacklin Mine, and California Mine scattered across the Whipple Mountains and Buckskin Mountains. Transportation networks are anchored by the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe railroad, which skirts the southern edge of the Turtle Mountains. Large tracts of land are managed through the Chemehuevi Indian Reservation and Colorado River Indian Reservation, reflecting the complex jurisdictional nature of the river valley during the mid-1980s.