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1969 Map of Rudd Draw

Name: 1969 Topographic Map of Rudd Draw
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1981
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1981

About this map

Wheat Oil Field dominates this arid landscape in Loving County, illustrating the intensive petroleum exploration that defined the region during the late 1960s. The map reveals a dense network of energy infrastructure, from a dedicated Oil Well and numerous Drill Hole locations to a major east-west Pipeline. This industrial activity is superimposed on a traditional ranching environment where water management was paramount, as evidenced by named water sources like White Mule Well, Gillespie Tank, and Rondo Well.

Remote Texas ranch life is centered on the Slash Ranch and the nearby Landing Field, which likely served as a vital transportation link for this isolated territory. The intermittent Rudd Draw provides the primary drainage for the area, occasionally collecting in small basins such as Beacon Light Lake. This survey captures the transition of the Permian Basin as the search for oil integrated with established cattle operations like Wheat Well and the Gilliland Tank.