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1948 Map of San Vicente

Name: 1948 Topographic Map of San Vicente
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1948
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1948

About this map

The Papago Indian Reservation dominates this 1938 survey of the desert landscape west of Tucson. Small settlements and ranching outposts such as Schuchk, San Vicente, and Havana Nakya are scattered across the valley floor, connected by primitive desert tracks and the developing Ajo - Tucson Highway. The topography is defined by sharp elevation shifts, from the low-lying Coyote Field to the prominent Coyote Mountains and North Comobabi Mountains.

Resource extraction and isolated habitation are evident in features like the Roadside Mine and family-named landmarks including San Ignacio Ranch and Cornell Ranch. This map captures a specific moment in the rural development of Pima County, showing the reliance on localized water sources such as Wattle Hut and various tanks and wells for survival in the arid terrain. The mapping, supervised by Charles W. Birdseye, provides a detailed look at the geographic character of the Tohono O'odham lands during the late 1930s.