1943 Map of San Xavier Mission

About this map

The San Xavier del Bac Mission anchors the eastern edge of this landscape, standing near the banks of the Santa Cruz River in the broad Santa Cruz Valley. Surveyed during the early 1940s, the map documents a transition from the rugged volcanic peaks of the Tucson Mountains to the flat alluvial plains of the Papago Indian Reservation and San Xavier Indian Reservation. Notable social and scientific landmarks of the era are clustered near the northeast corner, including the Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill, St Marys Hospital, and the Pima County Preventorium. Transportation is defined by the Ajo-Tucson Highway cutting diagonally across the basin, while scattered outposts like Triple C Ranch and Robles Well reflect the era's reliance on isolated water sources and ranching tenures in the arid desert terrain.