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1966 Map of Winchester SW

Name: 1966 Topographic Map of Winchester SW
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1979
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1979

About this map

Sand dunes dominate the arid landscape of central Washington in this mid-1960s study, revealing a complex network of irrigation and drainage infrastructure. The Frenchman Hills rise in the southern portion of the map, skirted by the Frenchman Hills Wasteway. These artificial channels, including the Winchester Wasteway, represent the critical water management systems of the Columbia Basin Project, which transformed this high desert into productive land.

A Siphon and several Well sites underscore the engineering required to move water across the terrain. While largely open land, the map notes human imprints through a Gaging Station, a Rest Area, and small isolated features such as Soap and a Blowout. A single structure marked Deserted suggests the transitory nature of early attempts at settling these wind-swept reaches before large-scale irrigation was fully established.