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1966 Map of Swansea

Name: 1966 Topographic Map of Swansea
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1967
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1967

About this map

Swansea (Site) and Planet (Site) anchor this mid-1960s survey of a copper mining landscape along the border of Mohave and Yuma counties. The terrain is defined by the Rawhide Mountains and Buckskin Mountains, where the Bill Williams River cuts a deep course through the desert. Industrial history is evident in the remaining Old Railroad Grade and specialized infrastructure like the Retort Oven and Swansea Pumping Station. These features reflect an era of extraction and transport that linked isolated desert camps to broader markets.

Further south, the landscape opens into the broad Cactus Plain and Butler Valley, separated by Butler Pass. Along the Swansea Road, the Midway (Site) and various Mines suggest the former density of prospecting in these hills. From Planet Peak to Clara Peak, the map records a network of primitive tracks including the Lincoln Ranch Trail and Rankin Jeep Trail, tracing the routes used to navigate this arid environment before modern development.