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1954 Map of Phoenix

Name: 1954 Topographic Map of Phoenix
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1968
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1968

About this map

The growing metropolitan area of Phoenix anchors this mid-century landscape, surrounded by an expanse of desert plains and rugged mountain ranges. To the west, the agricultural and military character of the valley is evident through the footprint of Luke AFB and its several auxiliary fields, alongside the rural centers of Buckeye and Litchfield School. The desert floor is bisected by major washes and riverbeds, including the Hassayampa River and Agua Fria River, which define the drainage patterns between the White Tank Mountains and the Vulture Mountains.

Resource extraction and transit legacy appear throughout the hinterlands, from the Sunrise Mine in the north to the Southern Pacific and Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe rail lines. This survey captures a specific era of Arizona's development when industrial mining at sites like the Buckeye Copper Mine operated alongside expanding irrigation works like the Gila Bend Canal, all while vast tracts remained preserved within the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge and tribal lands of the Gila River Indian Reservation.