Published in 2006 from cartographic work created in 2002, the U.S. Geological Survey’s “Winthrop Quadrangle” presents the Methow Valley with the disciplined elegance of modern American topographic mapping. At 1:24,000 scale, it captures the populated place of Winthrop, Washington, and its surrounding terrain in fine-grained detail, using contour lines to translate the rises, benches, slopes, and drainages of a mountainous landscape into a precise visual language. The map belongs to the USGS quadrangle tradition: practical, exacting, and quietly beautiful. Roads, trails, watercourses, forests, and administrative boundaries are arranged with clarity, offering a snapshot of the region’s natural and human geography at the beginning of the twenty-first century.

Winthrop itself sits at the heart of the map, a small but storied settlement in north-central Washington shaped by the Methow River and the dramatic uplands around it. The town is shown not as an isolated point, but as part of a broader mountain valley system, where transportation routes, land parcels, and waterways reveal patterns of habitation and movement. The Methow River is one of the defining features, its course organizing the landscape and linking the community to the surrounding basins. Nearby roads and highway routes trace the practical corridors through rugged country, while smaller tracks and trails hint at recreation, forestry, wildlife management, and local access across a varied terrain.

The map’s topographic character is especially compelling. Contour lines, marked in feet, articulate the relief with precision, showing how the valley floor gives way to hills, ridges, and higher forested ground. Pearrygin Lake and Lake Methow add a graceful counterpoint to the angular structure of the contours, their blue forms set among slopes, roads, and open lands. These water bodies are more than scenic details: they speak to drainage, settlement, recreation, and the ecological richness of the Methow region. The surrounding hills and sedimentary features suggest a landscape shaped by water, weather, glacial history, and erosion, with the map preserving those processes in a refined cartographic form.

The presence of Okanogan National Forest and the State Wildlife Area gives the quadrangle a broader environmental importance. Forested areas are clearly differentiated, establishing the relationship between managed public lands, habitat, recreation corridors, and private or administratively distinct parcels. Red boundary markings identify land divisions and jurisdictional limits, adding a layer of civic geography to the physical terrain. This interplay between natural landforms and human-defined spaces is one of the map’s great strengths. It shows not simply where features are located, but how the landscape is organized, protected, used, and traversed. For collectors, it is a revealing portrait of a mountain community embedded in a larger ecological and administrative framework.

As a USGS production, the “Winthrop Quadrangle” reflects one of the most respected cartographic institutions in the world, known for maps that combine scientific rigor with visual restraint. Its clear color system distinguishes water, vegetation, settlement, roads, and boundaries, making the complex terrain immediately legible without sacrificing detail. Historically, the map records the geography of Winthrop and its environs as understood in 2002, a moment before later development, land-use changes, and environmental shifts may have altered the area. It is both a practical survey and a historical document: a measured, authoritative image of the Methow Valley, preserving the relationship between town, river, lake, forest, and mountain at a specific point in time.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Winthrop, WA
• Methow River
• Pearrygin Lake
• Lake Methow
• Okanogan National Forest
• State Wildlife Area
• Various contours, including elevations noted in feet
• Roads, including highway routes
• Trails
• Forested areas
• Distinct land plots marked in red for administrative boundaries
• Soils and sediment features

Historical context & cartographic details

• Published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
• Created in 2002 and published in 2006
• 1:24,000 scale topographical map
• Uses contour lines to represent elevation changes, following standard USGS topographic mapping methods
• Shows detailed terrain features characteristic of a mountainous region, including elevation changes, hills, lakes, and rivers
• Reflects the geographical layout as of 2002, including natural and man-made features that may have changed since then
• Provides historical context for understanding land use and development patterns in and around Winthrop
• Employs a clear, logical layout with colors distinguishing water bodies, forested land, and urban areas

Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.

Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.

Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.

Every piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.

With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.