1948 Map of Sonora

About this map

The Sierra Foothills during the late 1940s are defined here by a transition from hard-rock mining legacies to large-scale water infrastructure. Centered on Sonora, the landscape is etched with the activity of the Sierra RR, which served the timber and mining industries of the Mother Lode. Major industrial footprints remain visible at the Harvard Mine and Eagle-Shawmut Mine, while the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct snakes through the southern half of the quadrangle, signaling the region's critical role in California's hydraulic development.