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1953 Map of The Dark Hole

Name: 1953 Topographic Map of The Dark Hole
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1957
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1957

About this map

Black Mountain and Table Mountain dominate this corner of the California Coast Ranges where Fresno, Monterey, and Kings counties meet. The landscape in the early 1950s was defined by isolated homesteads and seasonal camps, reflecting a history of ranching and early resource exploration. Notable family-named sites like the Taylor Ranch and Moore Cabin are scattered across the high ground, while the presence of Pinoso House (Ruins), Riley Cabin (Ruins), and Shields Cabin (Ruins) suggests the harsh reality of maintaining these remote outposts.

Water management is evident through the many springs and small reservoirs feeding Avenal Canyon and Joaquin Canyon. The map records a transition from established cattle country to a more surveyed wilderness, marked by the prominent Reef Ridge and the lower flats of Turkey Flat. For researchers, these specific cabin locations and named points like Picacho Rock provide precise coordinates for tracing local land use before mid-century modernizations reached these uplands.