1951 Map of Red Pass Lake

About this map

The Avawatz Mountains dominate the eastern landscape of this San Bernardino County survey, their steep slopes dropping away toward the desert floor. The central and southern portions of the sheet are defined by the Camp Irwin Military Reservation, an area of high desert terrain that would eventually become the National Training Center. The namesake Red Pass Lake sits near the southern boundary, a dry lake bed characteristic of the Mojave's closed drainage basins. Human presence is limited but distinct, marked by the long stretch of the Silver Lake Road and a solitary Cem label. This 1951 edition captures the area at a point when military land use was formalizing the desert boundaries, yet before the more intensive development and site expansion of the mid-to-late 20th century.