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1965 Map of Salton Sea

Name: 1965 Topographic Map of Salton Sea
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1965
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1965

About this map

Salton Sea dominates the southwestern corner of this survey, surrounded by mid-century infrastructure like the Salton Sea Test Base and the Naval Reservation. The landscape is a study in desert reclamation and water management, featuring the All American Canal and the Coachella Branch feeding agricultural centers like Calipatria and Westmorland. The Colorado River forms the eastern boundary, where the town of Blythe serves as a hub for the fertile Palo Verde valley, adjacent to the Colorado River Indian Reservation.

Industrial and military interests are etched across the arid terrain, from the Eagle Mountain Mine in the north to the sprawling Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range. Numerous historic mining sites such as the Mission Sweet Mine, Aztec Mines, and Black Jack Tunnel are scattered through the Chuckwalla Mountains and Chocolate Mountains, providing a detailed look at the extraction economy of the Colorado Desert during this era.