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1951 Map of Santa Rita

Name: 1951 Topographic Map of Santa Rita
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1959
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1959

About this map

The massive North Pit Chino Mine and South Pit Chino Mine dominate this central New Mexico landscape, illustrating the intense industrial copper mining operations of the mid-20th century. Clustered around these excavations are the worker settlements and support towns of Santa Rita, Turnerville, and Wimsattville, which contrast with the higher-elevation wilderness of the Gila National Forest to the north.

A network of shafts and underground operations, including the Princess Shaft and Oswaldo No 1 Shaft, follow the mineral-rich veins through the Pinos Altos Range. To the east, the map captures the transition from active extraction to history at the Georgetown Ruins and Georgetown Cem. Transportation is vital to this high-desert economy, anchored by the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe RR and local routes like the Mimbres Road that snake through the canyons.