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1960 Map of Santa Ana

Name: 1960 Topographic Map of Santa Ana
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1960
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1960

About this map

Santa Ana and the rapidly expanding urban corridor of Orange County serve as the western anchor for this mid-century survey. The landscape transitions from the coastal communities of Newport Beach and Laguna Beach into the formidable Santa Ana Mountains and San Jacinto Mountains. Transportation networks are heavily defined by the Santa Ana Freeway and major rail lines like the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe RR, which connect the coastal plains to the inland valleys.

Inland, the map reveals a mosaic of protected lands and water resources, including the Cleveland National Forest and numerous tribal lands such as the Morongo Indian Reservation and Pechanga Indian Reservation. Significant military installations like March Field and Camp Haan Military Reservation are prominent, while the eastern edge captures the arid expanse of the Coachella Valley leading toward the Salton Sea. This edition documents the region's complex water management through features like Elsinore Lake and the Railroad Canyon Reservoir before later 20th-century development altered the rural character of these interior basins.