Loading map...

1957 Map of Plaster City

Name: 1957 Topographic Map of Plaster City
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1979
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1979

About this map

Plaster City serves as the industrial heart of this desert landscape, dominated by a large Gypsum Plant and its supporting infrastructure. The map illustrates a unique intersection of heavy industry, military operations, and historical transit corridors. To the north, the Naval Reservation Boundary encompasses the Recovery Parachute Test Range and a specialized Parachute Testing Unit, complete with an Observation Tower.

Transport and water management define the southern reaches, where the San Diego and Arizona Eastern railroad runs parallel to complex irrigation works like the Westside Main Canal and the poetically named Forget-Me-Not Canal. The historical Old Overland Stage Route cuts across the Yuha Desert, tracing a path through Coyote Wash that predates the surrounding industrial and military developments. The presence of a Mining Railroad and various gravel and sand pits highlights the extractive economy that sustained settlements like Dixieland.