1953 Map of Tetilla Peak

About this map

Tetilla Peak and the surrounding volcanic landscape of the Caja Del Rio Plateau define this region of north-central New Mexico. In the early 1950s, the area remained deeply connected to its ancestral Spanish land grants, including the La Majada Grant and the Mesita De Juana Lopez Grant. Settlement is concentrated along the Santa Fe River and Cienega Creek, where the villages of La Bajada and La Cienega sit near the base of the dramatic La Bajada Mesa escarpment. The map documents a landscape transitioning into the modern era, showing the Pan American Highway cutting across the mesas while the At & SF railroad skirts the southern edge. Archaeological history is present at the Tsinat Ruins, while local industry is represented by the La Bajada Mine and the Turquoise Trading Post near Cerro Bonanza.