1968 Map of The Wall

About this map

Lunar Lake and the volcanic expanse of Lava dominate this late 1960s desert landscape, mapped in cooperation with the Atomic Energy Commission. The topography is defined by the sharp verticality of The Pancake Range and the distinctive formation known as The Wall, which divides the high desert terrain. Water, while scarce, is traced through the long corridor of Sand Springs Wash as it descends into Big Sand Springs Valley. Human activity in this desolate stretch of Nye County is marked primarily by extraction and transit, from the scattered Prospects and a Cinder Pit to the winding Jeep Trail that navigates the eastern slopes toward Railroad Valley. The map records a primitive infrastructure of fence lines and remote landmarks like Black Rock in a region defined by its geological starkness.