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1904 Map of Terlingua

Name: 1904 Topographic Map of Terlingua
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1926
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1926

About this map

The remote Chihuahuan Desert landscape of the Big Bend region is defined by the massive circular geological formation known as The Solitario and the deep incision of the Rio Grande. This 1904 edition document records the early ranching and mining period before the establishment of the national park, where isolated outposts like Howard's Ranch and Gourley's Ranch relied on scarce water sources such as Black Tinaja and Joe Black Spring. A lone Telephone Line and various wagon trails connect these scattered habitations to Terlingua and the riverside settlement of Lajitas.

Tracing the international boundary between Texas and Chihuahua, the map illustrates the dramatic descent of the river through the Grand Canyon of Santa Helena beneath the Mesa de Anguila. Local industry is noted with a Mine symbol near Terlingua, while place names like Terlingua Abaja and Crenshaw's Camp provide essential data for genealogists and historians studying the frontier borderlands of Brewster and Presidio counties.