1975 Map of Warrior

About this map

Warrior and Kimberly anchor this orthophotograph, which provides a direct aerial perspective of north-central Alabama in the mid-1970s. Unlike traditional line-drawn maps, this survey uses a rectified 1975 aerial photograph to show the literal footprint of the landscape, revealing the dense woodlands and winding course of the Fork river. The imagery clearly distinguishes between the clustered residential grids of the towns and the extensive industrial scars of surface mining operations that dominate the surrounding ridges. These large-scale earth-moving sites, with their tiered excavations and access roads, illustrate the intense coal extraction economy central to this region. The visual data also records the path of major transportation corridors, providing researchers with an exact look at land usage, forest cover, and the intersection of industrial and residential zones during this period of development.