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1973 Map of Patterson Hills

Name: 1973 Topographic Map of Patterson Hills
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1976
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1976

About this map

Guadalupe Mountains National Park dominates the eastern landscape of this West Texas survey, where the rugged uplift meets the flat expanse of the Salt Basin (Depression). The map preserves the alignment of the Butterfield Trail as it crosses the high desert terrain, serving as a reminder of the mid-19th-century overland mail route that once traversed this arid corridor. Small outposts of activity are concentrated in the south, including the Guadalupe Sch, a Radio Tower, and the Guadalupe Pumping Sta, which supported the local infrastructure of Hudspeth and Culberson counties.

Drainage patterns like Bone Spring Draw and Little Sandy Draw cut through the Patterson Hills, showing how water moves through this environment toward the basin. Notable landmarks such as Quail Mountain and Cone Peak provide vertical relief against the wide-open plains. This sheet also records industrial and ranching footprints, from the Williams Ranch in the north to the Pipeline and various Wells that sustained life and commerce in the high Chihuahuan Desert.