Gilman Smith’s 1975 third edition of Joshua Tree National Monument is a masterclass in the pictorial map tradition, where artistry and orientation meet. Rendered in expressive hand-drawn detail, it frames the monument within Southern California’s high desert, celebrating the iconic silhouettes of Joshua trees while charting boulder fields, mountain ridges, and sweeping valleys. Functional elements are woven seamlessly into the composition: ranger stations, camps, and visitor centers appear alongside the main approaches via California State Routes 62 and 111. Vignettes cue the eye to landmarks and amenities, while careful notations point to precious water sources. At once an invitation and a guide, the map pairs beauty with practical intelligence, capturing the park’s charisma and its unforgiving, magnetic terrain.

Historically, the sheet is grounded in deep time and human continuity. It acknowledges Native American habitation across millennia, marking archaeological and cultural sites with respectful clarity and situating oases—such as 29 Palms and Lost Palms—as lifelines in a desert world. Mid-19th-century currents of settlement and prospecting are present in the delineation of private mining properties, a reminder of the fevered search for wealth that rippled across these arid basins. Issued during the monument years after its establishment in 1936, the map’s conservation messaging anticipates the heightened protections that would culminate in redesignation as a national park in 1994, underscoring a narrative of stewardship that spans generations.

The terrain itself is rendered with tactile intimacy. Sculptural rock gardens at White Tank and the arching sweep of Arch Rock Trail are depicted with a climber’s appreciation for form and a naturalist’s eye for sequence. Hidden Valley and Indian Cove emerge as storybook enclaves of stone and shade, while the Cholla Garden bristles on the page with the same improbable exuberance it summons at dawn. From Key’s View (Salton View), the map gestures toward distant horizons and the shimmer of the Salton Basin, even as Piñon Canyon and Cottonwood anchor the southern reaches. Trails braid these spaces together—hiking paths and horseback routes, and the long spine of the California Riding-Hiking Trail—inviting exploration paced to the desert’s rhythm.

Smith’s annotations on safety and desert survival elevate the work from pretty panorama to lived counsel. Rock-climbing cautions are paired with practical wayfinding, sequencing scrambles and drop-offs amid the monzogranite piles while reminding visitors to respect weather, heat, and exposure. Water points are clearly identified and emphatically scarce, reinforcing the need to plan itineraries from campground to campground and to check in with ranger stations. The map’s voice reflects the era’s growing backcountry ethos: leave no trace, tread lightly on cryptic soils and fragile oases, and allow time, light, and distance to dictate the day. Its guidance is as relevant now as it was to desert wanderers of the 1970s.

Context is everything, and the margins here are rich with it. The sheet orients the monument within Riverside and San Bernardino counties, tracing the desert thoroughfares toward Joshua Tree, Morongo Valley, Dillon, and Amboy, and nodding to longer corridors of movement from El Camino Real to Parker Dam along the Colorado River. In doing so, it maps relationships—between geology and water, routes and refuge, Indigenous presence and settler ambition, recreation and restraint. As a document of its time and a window onto eras before and after, this edition distills a pivotal American landscape into an elegant narrative of place: exacting yet evocative, instructional yet enchanted. A collector’s map that speaks fluently to both memory and journey.

Places on this map

• Joshua Tree National Monument
• Amboy
• 29 Palms Oasis
• San Bernardino County
• Parker Dam
• Cholla Garden
• Lost Palms Oasis
• Cottonwood
• Indian Cove
• Arch Rock Trail
• White Tank
• Key's View (Salton View)
• Piñon Canyon
• Hidden Valley
• Rio Grande Valley
• Dillon
• Joshua Tree
• Morongo Valley
• El Camino Real
• California Riding-Hiking Trail

Notable Features & Landmarks

• Iconic Joshua Trees: Depicted in the visual artwork.
• Geological Formations: Detailed representations of boulders and mountain ranges.
• Safety warnings: Guidelines on rock climbing and desert survival.
• Trails for Hiking and Horseback Riding: Marked paths offering recreational opportunities.
• Historical Landmarks: Notations for archaeological sites.
• Visitor Amenities: Locations of ranger stations, camps, and visitor centers.
• Roads and Highways: Main routes such as California State Routes 62 and 111.
• Water Sources: Indicated areas for water availability.
• Cultural Sites: Identified Native American sites.
• Private Mining Properties: Marked private lands within the monument.

Historical and design context

• Mapmaking Date: 1975 (3rd edition)
• Mapmaker: Gilman Smith
• Theme: Historically informative thematic and pictorial map showcasing geographic details, safety guidelines, and conservation tips.
• Historical Context: Details Native American habitation for thousands of years, highlighting archaeological findings.
• Historical Context: Notes the mid-1800s settlers and prospectors drawn to the area seeking wealth.
• Historical Context: The park's establishment in 1936 and its redesignation as a national park in 1994 is included.
• Design/Style: Pictorial map style with hand-drawn elements, emphasizing a combination of artistic and functional geographic representation, typical of thematic maps of the era.
• Historical Significance: Illustrates the interaction of human history with the natural environment in Joshua Tree, emphasizing conservation and the area's unique geological history.

Please double check the images to make sure that a specific town or place is shown on this map. You can also get in touch and ask us to check the map for you.

This map looks great at every size, but I always recommend going for a larger size if you have space. That way you can easily make out all of the details.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 70in (180cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 24x36in (60x90cm) version of this map.

The fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.

If you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the best old maps to see if something else catches your eye.

Please contact me to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.

This would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.

This map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.

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.

For most orders, delivery time is about 3 working days. Personalised and customised products take longer, as I have to do the personalisation and send it to you for approval, which usually takes 1 or 2 days.

Please note that very large framed orders usually take longer to make and deliver. 

If you need your order to arrive by a certain date, please contact me before you order so that we can find the best way of making sure you get your order in time.

I print and frame maps and artwork in 23 countries around the world. This means your order will be made locally, which cuts down on delivery time and ensures that it won't be damaged during delivery. You'll never pay customs or import duty, and we'll put less CO2 into the air.

All of my maps and art prints are well packaged and sent in a rugged tube if unframed, or surrounded by foam if framed.

I try to send out all orders within 1 or 2 days of receiving your order, though some products (like face masks, mugs and tote bags) can take longer to make.

If you select Express Delivery at checkout your order we will prioritise your order and send it out by 1-day courier (Fedex, DHL, UPS, Parcelforce).

Next Day delivery is also available in some countries (US, UK, Singapore, UAE) but please try to order early in the day so that we can get it sent out on time.

Read my full delivery and local production guide

My standard frame is a gallery style black ash hardwood frame. It is simple and quite modern looking. My standard frame is around 20mm (0.8in) wide.

I use super-clear acrylic (perspex/acrylite) for the frame glass. It's lighter and safer than glass - and it looks better, as the reflectivity is lower.

Six standard frame colours are available for free (black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white and antique gold). Custom framing and mounting/matting is available if you're looking for something else.

Most maps, art and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte (not shiny) cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced box wood frame, and then 'float' the piece within a wood frame. The end result is quite beautiful, and there's no glazing to get in the way.

All frames are provided "ready to hang", with either a string or brackets on the back. Very large frames will have heavy duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.

See some examples of my framed maps and framed canvas maps.

Alternatively, I can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag and other materials.

If you want to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read my size guide first.

My maps are extremely high quality reproductions of original maps.

I source original, rare maps from libraries, auction houses and private collections around the world, restore them at my London workshop, and then use specialist giclée inks and printers to create beautiful maps that look even better than the original.

My maps are printed on acid-free archival matte (not glossy) paper that feels very high quality and almost like card. In technical terms the paper weight/thickness is 10mil/200gsm. It's perfect for framing.

I print with Epson ultrachrome giclée UV fade resistant pigment inks - some of the best inks you can find.

I can also make maps on canvas, cotton rag and other exotic materials.

Learn more about The Unique Maps Co.

Map personalisation

If you're looking for the perfect anniversary or housewarming gift, I can personalise your map to make it truly unique. For example, I can add a short message, or highlight an important location, or add your family's coat of arms.

The options are almost infinite. Please see my map personalisation page for some wonderful examples of what's possible.

To order a personalised map, select "personalise your map" before adding it to your basket.

Get in touch if you're looking for more complex customisations and personalisations.

Map ageing

I have been asked hundreds of times over the years by customers if they could buy a map that looks even older.

Well, now you can, by selecting Aged before you add a map to your basket.

All the product photos you see on this page show the map in its Original form. This is what the map looks like today.

If you select Aged, I will age your map by hand, using a special and unique process developed through years of studying old maps, talking to researchers to understand the chemistry of aging paper, and of course... lots of practice!

If you're unsure, stick to the Original colour of the map. If you want something a bit darker and older looking, go for Aged.

See some amazing examples of Aged maps.

Se non sei soddisfatto del tuo ordine per qualsiasi motivo, contattami per un rimborso senza problemi. Si prega di consultare la nostra politica di reso e rimborso per ulteriori informazioni.

Sono molto sicuro che ti piacerà la tua mappa restaurata o la stampa d'arte. Lo faccio dal 1984. Sono un venditore Etsy a 5 stelle. Ho venduto decine di migliaia di mappe e stampe d'arte e ho oltre 5.000 recensioni reali a 5 stelle.

Utilizzo un processo unico per restaurare mappe e opere d'arte che richiede molto tempo e lavoro. Trovare le mappe e le illustrazioni originali può richiedere mesi. Utilizzo tecnologia all'avanguardia e incredibilmente costosa per scannerizzare e restaurarle. Di conseguenza, garantisco che le mie mappe e stampe d'arte siano superiori alle altre - ecco perché posso offrire un rimborso senza problemi.

Quasi tutte le mie mappe e stampe d'arte sembrano fantastiche a grandi dimensioni (200 cm, 6,5 piedi+) e posso anche incorniciarle e consegnarle a te, tramite un corriere speciale per oggetti di grandi dimensioni. Contattami per discutere delle tue esigenze specifiche.