1955 Map of White Sands SE

About this map

Tularosa Valley defines this mid-century landscape, a high-desert floor dominated by the expanding defense operations of the Cold War era. The map reveals the intersection of the Fort Bliss Military Reservation and the White Sands Proving Ground, where the Military Reservation Boundary cuts across the arid basin. Historically significant details include a lone Telephone line threading through the scrub and isolated Ruins in the southeastern quadrant, hinting at the ranching or homesteading history that preceded the land's transition to military control. Surveyed during the mid-1950s by the Army Map Service, the topography illustrates a basin characterized by subtle elevation shifts and sparse markers of human occupation beyond the massive federal holdings.