1945 Map of Picacho Peak

About this map

The Colorado River serves as the focal point for this mid-1940s War Department survey, marking the vital border between California and Arizona. Irrigation infrastructure dominates the lower landscape, where the All American Canal and Imperial Reservoir support the agricultural settlements of Bard and Ypsilanti. The grid system of the Yuma Indian Reservation is clearly defined by named thoroughfares like Sixth Street and Eleventh Street, while the Southern Pacific railroad tracks follow the river's bend toward Araz. To the north, the terrain transitions into the steep ridges of the Chocolate Mountains, dominated by Picacho Peak and the Picacho Mine. The map also captures local civic life through the locations of the Laguna Sch and Riverside Sch, alongside the desolate stretches of the Bad Lands.