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1957 Map of White Tank Mts.

Name: 1957 Topographic Map of White Tank Mts.
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1959
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1959

About this map

White Tank Mountains dominate the eastern landscape of this Maricopa County survey, rising sharply from the desert floor. The area reflects a mid-century military and municipal expansion, anchored by Luke Air Force Auxiliary Field No 1 and Luke Auxiliary Field No 4, which was then under the jurisdiction of the City of Phoenix. To the south, the White Tanks Proving Grounds occupy the flats, while the western reaches are defined by the ephemeral Hassayampa River.

Survival in this arid environment is etched into the map through a network of named water sources and remote outposts. From Dos Palmas Well and Henrys Tank to deep-desert markers like Flower Pot Well and Wagner Wash Well, these features trace the essential infrastructure of a pre-urban Sonoran Desert. A series of Microwave Radio Towers at the higher elevations of Vabm 4018 indicates the technological development of communication networks during the late 1950s.