1956 Map of Thermal Canyon

About this map

Coachella Valley agriculture meets the stark desert uplands in this mid-century study of Riverside County. The landscape is defined by massive water infrastructure projects, most notably the Coachella Canal and the Colorado River Aqueduct, which enabled the transformation of the arid basin into a productive horticultural zone. While the valley floor is meticulously partitioned with irrigated fields and infrastructure like Wasteway No 2 and a complex Levee system, the northeastern portion rises sharply into the Little San Bernardino Mts. Here, the terrain is carved by drainage features such as Thermal Canyon, West Double Canyon, and East Double Canyon. The 1970s-era purple revisions reveal the expansion of roads and pipelines across the Mecca Hills and Front Hill, illustrating the continued development of utility corridors through the Colorado Desert.