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1982 Map of Playas Lake South

Name: 1982 Topographic Map of Playas Lake South
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1982
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1982

About this map

Playas Lake dominates this arid landscape at the beginning of the 1980s, revealing a dry lake bed managed by an extensive system of Levees. The southern end of the basin is marked by industrial activity centered around a massive Smelter, which includes specialized infrastructure like a Sewage Disposal Pond and nearby Levees to control local runoff. This industrial site sits at the interface of the flat basin floor and the rising slopes of the Little Hatchet Mountains to the east.

Water sources are scarce in this high desert environment, with Whitmire Spring and the drainage of Rough Creek providing the few named natural water features. To the northeast, the terrain becomes increasingly steep as it transitions into Bull Canyon. The map provides a look at the boundary between Hidalgo and Grant counties, showing how this jurisdictional line follows the natural crest of the mountain range.