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1965 Map of South Cowden Ranch

Name: 1965 Topographic Map of South Cowden Ranch
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1967
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1967

About this map

South Cowden Ranch sits at the heart of this Permian Basin landscape, where industrial infrastructure and traditional ranching overlap during the mid-1960s. The terrain is defined by a dense network of energy assets, including the Concho Bluff North Oil Field, Virey Field, and Moose Field, alongside a significant Aqueduct and multiple Pipeline systems crossing the arid landscape.

Water management is the most visible sign of human presence across the range, documented through a remarkable census of named windmills. These landmarks, such as Mc Elroy Trap Windmill, Eight Section Windmill, and the curiously named Hillbilly Windmill, reveal the critical importance of groundwater for sustaining the Railway Ranch and other holdings in this segment of Ector, Midland, Crane, and Upton Counties.