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1962 Map of San Carlos Reservoir

Name: 1962 Topographic Map of San Carlos Reservoir
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1963
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1963

About this map

San Carlos Reservoir dominates this high-desert landscape in the early 1960s, a critical water resource bounded by the San Carlos Indian Reservation and Coronado National Forest. The map captures a transitional era for the region, where legacy mining operations like the Starlight Mine and Copper Reef Mine sit among an intricate network of desert water sources, including the curious Post Office Spring and Little Elderberry Spring.

Settlement patterns are defined by the rugged drainage systems of Hawk Canyon and the Gila River, where an Old RR Grade hints at earlier industrial connectivity. Remote outposts and dwellings such as Bowman Ranch, Sanders Rangeline Cabin, and the Ellison Place Well provide specific points of interest for genealogists and local historians tracking the sparse but vital human presence in the Gila and Graham county borderlands.