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1949 Map of Trona

Name: 1949 Topographic Map of Trona
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1966
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1966

About this map

The industrial heart of the Mojave Desert is captured here through the lens of mineral extraction and water management. Trona sits at the edge of the mineral-rich dry bed of Searles Lake, where the Trona Pipe Line and infrastructure like Borax Flat point to the heavy chemistry and potash production that built this community. The map details the complex relationship between the settlement and its arid surroundings, tracing the essential network of desert water sources like Indian Joe Spring, Bainter Spring, and Quail Spr.

High above the dry lake, the Argus Range is pockmarked with extraction sites, ranging from the Orendo Mine and Ruth Mine to the Veeta Mine in Bruce Canyon. The presence of the Naval Ordnance Test Station boundary and the Trona Airport highlight the region's mid-century military and logistical importance. This landscape is a patchwork of steep canyons and basins, where remote prospects like the Stockwell Mine in the Panamint Valley fringe contrast with the organized settlement at Valley Wells.