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1971 Map of Sombrero Peak

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

USGS Topo · Published 1974

About this map

The Paint Gap Hills and Onion Flat dominate this desert landscape, where water sources dictated the patterns of human activity. Settlers and travelers in this arid region of the Big Bend National Park relied on a network of scattered water points including Indian Spring, Rock House Spring, and the curiously named Smallpox Well. The presence of the Sombrero Peak Ranch, accompanied by its own Landing Strip, suggests the remote nature of mid-century ranching life before the area was fully transitioned into park management.

Evidence of earlier occupation is found at Ruins near Onion Spring and Dripping Spring, marking former habitation sites along the drainage of Tornillo Creek. The terrain is defined by dramatic peaks like Sombrero Peak and the southern edge of the Rosillos Mountains, linked by a web of Jeep Trails that cross Corazones Draw. This survey provides a record of the fragile infrastructure, from a lone Water Tank to isolated springs, that supported life in the Trans-Pecos.