1961 Map of Planada

About this map

Agricultural development and water management define the landscape east of Merced in the early 1960s. The settlement of Planada sits at the heart of an organized grid of orchards and fields, flanked by the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe railroad line. This period shows a complex network of irrigation and drainage infrastructure, including the Le Grand Canal and Cunningham Canal, which transformed the Central Valley floor. To the north, the terrain rises toward VABM Hurricane 420, where the drainage of Black Rascal Creek and Bear Creek transitions from natural waterways into the managed channels of the valley.