1954 Map of Vya

About this map

The Sheldon National Antelope Refuge dominates the northwestern high desert of this survey, a landscape defined by seasonal lakes and internal drainage basins like Massacre Lake and Boulder Lake. In the mid-1950s, the isolated settlement of Vya stood as a remote hub in the Long Valley corridor, while Soldier Meadow served the ranching country at the foot of the Calico Mountains. This is a land of massive, north-south trending mountain blocks and expansive playas, where the Black Rock Desert and the Black Rock Range divide the geography. The map traces the early 20th-century boundaries of the Summit Lake Indian Reservation and the Fort Mc Dermitt Indian Reservation, preserving the location of vital water sources such as Rock Spring Table Reservoir and Big Spring Reservoir in a territory where the Quinn River represents the primary hydrological artery.