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1958 Map of San Diego

Name: 1958 Topographic Map of San Diego
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1961
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1961

About this map

The San Diego metropolitan area and its expansive backcountry are documented here just as the post-war population boom began reshaping the Southern California coastline. From the urban core and San Diego Bay to the high desert, the map captures a landscape defined by significant military installations and a rapidly expanding road network including U.S. 101 and U.S. 395. The heavy presence of the United States Navy is evident at North Island NAS, Ream Field NAAS, and the Border Field Naval Reservation along the international boundary.

Moving inland, the terrain rises sharply into the Laguna Mountains and Cleveland National Forest, where water management systems like San Vicente Reservoir and El Capitan Reservoir supported the growing coastal cities. The transit infrastructure of the era is preserved in the tracks of the San Diego & Arizona Eastern Ry and the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Ry. To the far east, the map details the arid transition into Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and the Coyote Mountains, providing a view of the region before modern suburban sprawl moved into the inland valleys.