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1965 Map of Picacho SW

Name: 1965 Topographic Map of Picacho SW
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1973
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1973

About this map

The Colorado River snakes along the boundary between Imperial Co and Yuma Co, defining the arid borderlands between California and Arizona in the mid-1960s. This survey illustrates the river's dynamic hydrological environment, where the main channel is flanked by a complex network of backwaters like Adobe Lake, Nortons Lake, and Taylor Lake. The transition between the Picacho State Recreation Area and the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge marks a landscape of preservation and rugged isolation.

Evidence of earlier habitation and river commerce appears in the form of several historical sites, including Nortons Landing (Site) and Nommel Place (Site). Steep elevation changes are evident along the Trigo Mountains to the east and the dramatic Bear Canyon Bluff to the south. Numerous desert drainage systems, such as Carrizo Wash and Julian Wash, illustrate the erosional patterns common to the Paradise Valley region during this era of topographical mapping.