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1973 Map of Rosamond Lake

Name: 1973 Topographic Map of Rosamond Lake
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1976
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1976

About this map

Edwards Air Force Base dominates this section of the Antelope Valley, where the dry expanse of Rosamond Lake serves as a natural foundation for the Air Force Flight Test Center. The map captures the specialized geography of mid-1970s aerospace development, showing a landscape defined more by military infrastructure than civilian settlement. The Military Reservation Boundary cuts across the terrain, separating the high-tech testing grounds from the surrounding desert scrub.

Evidence of industrial activity appears in the form of several Sandpit sites and Quarries near Red Hill, while the Piute Ponds provide a rare aqueous contrast to the parched lake bed. Gridded infrastructure like East Avenue D and East Avenue E begins to organize the desert south of the base, reflecting the steady push of development into northern Los Angeles County. This survey detail is particularly valuable for tracing the precise historical perimeter of one of the nation's most critical flight test facilities.