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1947 Map of Santa Ana

Name: 1947 Topographic Map of Santa Ana
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1949
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1949

About this map

Santa Ana and the coastal plains of Southern California are shown here just after the war, a landscape where expanding orange groves meet an increasing military presence. Strategic installations like March Field and Camp Haan Mil Res sit near the growing city centers of Riverside and Fullerton. This era marks the transition of the region from a purely agricultural powerhouse to an industrial and residential hub, connected by the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe RR and Southern Pacific RR.

The geography is dominated by the Santa Ana Mountains and San Jacinto Mountains, which separate the coastal basins from the arid Coachella Valley and the Salton Sea. Numerous tribal lands, including the Soboba Indian Reservation and Morongo Indian Reservation, are distributed across the foothills. Water management is a central theme, evidenced by reservoirs like Lake Elsinore and Lake Henshaw that support the valley's development.