1956 Map of Silurian Hills

About this map

Sperry (Site) and Dumont (Site) anchor the northern reaches of this mid-century Mojave landscape, marking locations along an Old Railroad Grade that once connected these desert outposts. The terrain is defined by the shifting sands of the Dumont Dunes and the dramatic rise of the Dumont Hills and Silurian Hills. This map documents a transitional period when several former settlements, including Valjean (Site) and Riggs (Site), had already faded to sites, though Renoville remained a named point of interest. Resource extraction is evident through labeled Talc and Shaft markers near the ephemeral Selurian Lake. Hydrological features like the Amargosa River, Rabbit Holes Spring, and Salt Creek provide a blueprint of the water sources that dictated survival and industry in this arid environment.