1967 Map of Wright Ranch

About this map

Wright Ranch sits at the heart of this high-plains landscape in De Baca County, where water management defines the footprint of ranching life in the late 1960s. The terrain is characterized by a network of drainage systems including Indian Draw, Burro Draw, and Loco Draw, which feed into numerous localized catchments and depressions. Names like Dipping Vat Lake and Mail Carrier Lake suggest the functional history of the region's livestock industry and early transport routes. Grounded in the 1966 aerial photography of the U.S. Geological Survey, the map meticulously records the infrastructure of the desert rangeland, from High Lonesome Windmill to specialized water sources like Mexican Lake Wells and Dunlap Camp Tank. This survey serves as a precise record of rural New Mexico before modern consolidation, preserving the locations of family-named landmarks like Berts Well and Robertson Fence Tank that were essential to the operation of high-desert ranching operations.