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1971 Map of Sand Ranch

Name: 1971 Topographic Map of Sand Ranch
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1974
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1974

About this map

Industrial development in the Permian Basin takes center stage on this survey of the High Plains north of Kermit. The landscape is defined by the extensive Three Bar Oil Field and the South Nix Oil Field to the northeast, where a dense network of pipelines and wells overlays the natural topography. Amidst this energy infrastructure, the survival of ranching life is visible through family-named landmarks like Sand Ranch and the Future Three Ranch.

The presence of scattered windmills, such as Burma Windmill, Overly Windmill, and South Windmill, highlights the critical role of water management in this arid environment. Significant areas of Shifting Sand appear throughout the quadrangle, illustrating the dynamic desert terrain that workers navigated via a primitive Jeep Trail. A centralized Gasoline Plant and a prominent Radio Tower serve as the primary structural landmarks in an otherwise open horizon of gravel pits and extraction sites.