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1948 Map of Sowell

Name: 1948 Topographic Map of Sowell
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1959
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1959

About this map

The Pedro Armendaris Grant No 33 dominates the northwest corner of this high-desert landscape, where land use in the late 1940s was defined by isolated livestock operations and critical water management. Centered on the boundary of Sierra and Socorro counties, the map documents the infrastructure of remote ranching life, including the Cain Ranch Headquarters, Sanchez Ranch, and Sowell Ranch Headquarters.

A network of man-made catchments like Sevenmile Tank, Homestead Tank, and Candler Tank are scattered across the terrain to sustain cattle where the Jornada Draw provides only intermittent drainage. To the east, the steep rise of the San Andres Mountains frames the horizon, while modern technological imprints appear in the form of a Beacon and Radio Towers (E P P Range), signaling the era's expanding communication and aviation networks across the New Mexico Principal Meridian.