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1948 Map of Walker Lake

Name: 1948 Topographic Map of Walker Lake
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1948
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1948

About this map

Walker Lake and the arid Great Basin topography of Mineral and Lyon counties meet the high eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada in this late 1940s survey. The map records a landscape defined by significant water bodies, from the vast Lake Tahoe in the northwest to the saline expanse of Mono Lake and the distinctive Paoha Island. A network of mining history and high-desert settlement is evident, featuring the famous district of Bodie and the Leviathan Sulphur Mine, alongside railroad towns like Luning and Mina along the Southern Pacific line.

Transit through the region is anchored by the East Walker River Reservoir and the Walker River Indian Reservation, while the western margin transitions into the protected wilderness of Yosemite National Park and the Stanislaus National Forest. The map captures the interaction between federal land management and the legacy of the Comstock era, shown through scattered mining camps like Candelaria and Rhodes near the Columbus Salt Marsh.