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2020 Map of Upper Nutria

Name: 2020 Topographic Map of Upper Nutria
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2020
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2020

About this map

Upper Nutria and Lower Nutria anchor this high-desert landscape in McKinley County, where the perennial flow of the Rio Nutria has long supported local settlement. The topographic data captures a transition from the structured drainages of Sixmile Draw and Tampico Draw to the dramatic verticality of Oso Ridge and The Hogback. Historically centered on agriculture and livestock, the area’s water management is evident in the Nutria Diversion Reservoir and various stock tanks like Malcom Tank.

Northward, the terrain climbs into the timbered reaches of the Cibola National Forest, surrounding the community of McGaffey. This area is marked by ancestral and local history, preserved at Torreon Cem and McGaffey Cem. From the heights of the Lost Lake Rim down to the carved depths of Nutria Canyon, the map traces a network of Bureau of Indian Affairs routes, such as Indian Svc Rte 5, connecting remote springs and mesas.