Rare Old Map of Astoria, Oregon by USGS, 1949: Columbia River, Fort Clatsop & Cape Disappointment
Restored in our London workshop from the original 1968 map and printed to museum-grade archival standards. Full description
The Collector’s Offer
Choose two eligible works and receive 20% off both. Choose three and the lowest-priced one is complimentary, a maximum saving of 33%.
Mix and match eligible standard maps and fine-art prints. No code is required; the offer is applied automatically at checkout.
Standard made-to-order configurations are included. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded.
Need delivery to different addresses? Contact us before ordering.The Collector’s Offer
Choose two eligible works and receive 20% off both. Choose three and the lowest-priced one is complimentary, a maximum saving of 33%.
Mix and match eligible standard maps and fine-art prints. No code is required; the offer is applied automatically at checkout.
Standard made-to-order configurations are included. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded.
Need delivery to different addresses? Contact us before ordering.
Restored from the original 1968 map and printed to museum-grade archival standards. Full description
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Gift message & custom finish
If you want to add a gift message, or a finish (jigsaw, aluminium board, etc.) that is not available here, please request it in the "order note" when you check out.
Every order is custom made, so if you need the size adjusted slightly, or printed on an unusual material, just let us know. We've done thousands of custom orders over the years, so there's (almost) nothing we can't manage.
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Published in 1968 from survey data collected in 1949, the US Geological Survey’s “Astoria” captures one of the Pacific Northwest’s most storied...
Continue readingPublished in 1968 from survey data collected in 1949, the US Geological Survey’s “Astoria” captures one of the Pacific Northwest’s most storied coastal cities at a revealing mid-century moment. Set at the mouth of the Columbia River, the map presents Astoria, Oregon, not simply as a port, but as a city shaped by water, hills, industry, and passage. At 1:24,000 scale, it offers the precision associated with USGS quadrangles, balancing municipal detail with the dramatic terrain that frames the settlement. Roads, railways, shorelines, rivers, wooded slopes, and contour lines combine to show a working landscape poised between maritime commerce and rugged coastal geography, before later decades brought further infrastructural and population change.
Astoria occupies a remarkable geographic position, rising from the south bank of the Columbia River near its meeting with the Pacific. The map’s contour lines reveal the city’s steep, hilly character, with streets and neighborhoods pressed between riverfront lowlands and forested elevations. Smith Point, Tongue Point, and Point Ellice mark important promontories and river features, emphasizing the strategic nature of this estuarine landscape. The Columbia itself dominates the composition: broad, powerful, and historically vital as a corridor of trade, migration, fishing, and navigation. Nearby, the Youngs River introduces a quieter but equally significant system of channels and lowlands, tying Astoria to its surrounding valleys, farms, and timber country.
The map also places Astoria within a wider coastal and historical setting. Fort Clatsop, associated with the Lewis and Clark Expedition’s winter encampment of 1805–1806, anchors the region in the early national history of exploration and westward expansion. Across the river, Cape Disappointment evokes both navigational peril and maritime drama, standing near the Columbia Bar, one of the most challenging river entrances on the American coast. Crescent Beach and the Oregon coastline add the open Pacific dimension, contrasting with the enclosed waters of the Columbia estuary. Together, these features make the map a compact portrait of a region where Indigenous presence, exploration, shipping, fishing, and settlement all converged.
As a USGS topographical map, “Astoria” is distinguished by its disciplined visual language: clear contour intervals, precise hydrography, careful road classification, and a restrained but expressive use of color and linework. Elevation is not merely recorded; it is made legible, allowing the eye to follow ridges, slopes, valleys, and river terraces around the city. U.S. Route 101 appears as a crucial modern artery, threading the coastal landscape and linking Astoria to the broader Pacific highway network. Railways, roads, and waterfront alignments speak to the practical infrastructure of a port city, while parks and wooded areas underscore the persistence of dense natural terrain close to the urban core.
The historical value of this map lies in its depiction of Astoria before many later transformations in transportation, development, and regional planning altered the city and its environs. It preserves the mid-20th-century relationship between town and terrain: waterfront industry below, residential and wooded hills above, and the great river continually defining movement and orientation. The surrounding rural areas, coastal margins, and river points are rendered with the same authority as the urban grid, creating a richly layered geographic document. For admirers of Oregon, maritime history, or precise American cartography, this map offers an elegant window into a port city whose identity has always been inseparable from land, water, and elevation.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Astoria, Oregon
- Columbia River
- Youngs River
- Smith Point
- Point Ellice
- Tongue Point
- Crescent Beach
- Fort Clatsop
- Cape Disappointment
- Oregon coastline
- U.S. Route 101 and other roads and highways
- Railways in the area
- Parks and wooded areas surrounding Astoria
- Neighboring towns and rural areas off the main coastline
- Hills and valleys marked by contour lines
Historical context & cartographic details
- Published by the US Geological Survey (USGS)
- Survey data was collected in 1949, and the map was published in 1968
- Historical 1:24,000 topographical map of Astoria, Oregon, and its surroundings
- Shows Astoria as a significant port city on the Oregon coast
- Reflects the geography and municipal development of Astoria in the mid-20th century
- Created before later population and infrastructural changes in the area
- Features clear contour lines showing elevation changes
- Uses color and linework to distinguish terrain, water bodies, and other landscape features
- Depicts the hilly terrain around Astoria and the surrounding coastal landscape
- USGS maps are authoritative sources for geography and topography
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.
Published in 1968 from survey data collected in 1949, the US Geological Survey’s “Astoria” captures one of the Pacific Northwest’s most storied coastal cities at a revealing mid-century moment. Set at the mouth of the Columbia River, the map presents Astoria, Oregon, not simply as a port, but as a city shaped by water, hills, industry, and passage. At 1:24,000 scale, it offers the precision associated with USGS quadrangles, balancing municipal detail with the dramatic terrain that frames the settlement. Roads, railways, shorelines, rivers, wooded slopes, and contour lines combine to show a working landscape poised between maritime commerce and rugged coastal geography, before later decades brought further infrastructural and population change.
Astoria occupies a remarkable geographic position, rising from the south bank of the Columbia River near its meeting with the Pacific. The map’s contour lines reveal the city’s steep, hilly character, with streets and neighborhoods pressed between riverfront lowlands and forested elevations. Smith Point, Tongue Point, and Point Ellice mark important promontories and river features, emphasizing the strategic nature of this estuarine landscape. The Columbia itself dominates the composition: broad, powerful, and historically vital as a corridor of trade, migration, fishing, and navigation. Nearby, the Youngs River introduces a quieter but equally significant system of channels and lowlands, tying Astoria to its surrounding valleys, farms, and timber country.
The map also places Astoria within a wider coastal and historical setting. Fort Clatsop, associated with the Lewis and Clark Expedition’s winter encampment of 1805–1806, anchors the region in the early national history of exploration and westward expansion. Across the river, Cape Disappointment evokes both navigational peril and maritime drama, standing near the Columbia Bar, one of the most challenging river entrances on the American coast. Crescent Beach and the Oregon coastline add the open Pacific dimension, contrasting with the enclosed waters of the Columbia estuary. Together, these features make the map a compact portrait of a region where Indigenous presence, exploration, shipping, fishing, and settlement all converged.
As a USGS topographical map, “Astoria” is distinguished by its disciplined visual language: clear contour intervals, precise hydrography, careful road classification, and a restrained but expressive use of color and linework. Elevation is not merely recorded; it is made legible, allowing the eye to follow ridges, slopes, valleys, and river terraces around the city. U.S. Route 101 appears as a crucial modern artery, threading the coastal landscape and linking Astoria to the broader Pacific highway network. Railways, roads, and waterfront alignments speak to the practical infrastructure of a port city, while parks and wooded areas underscore the persistence of dense natural terrain close to the urban core.
The historical value of this map lies in its depiction of Astoria before many later transformations in transportation, development, and regional planning altered the city and its environs. It preserves the mid-20th-century relationship between town and terrain: waterfront industry below, residential and wooded hills above, and the great river continually defining movement and orientation. The surrounding rural areas, coastal margins, and river points are rendered with the same authority as the urban grid, creating a richly layered geographic document. For admirers of Oregon, maritime history, or precise American cartography, this map offers an elegant window into a port city whose identity has always been inseparable from land, water, and elevation.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Astoria, Oregon
- Columbia River
- Youngs River
- Smith Point
- Point Ellice
- Tongue Point
- Crescent Beach
- Fort Clatsop
- Cape Disappointment
- Oregon coastline
- U.S. Route 101 and other roads and highways
- Railways in the area
- Parks and wooded areas surrounding Astoria
- Neighboring towns and rural areas off the main coastline
- Hills and valleys marked by contour lines
Historical context & cartographic details
- Published by the US Geological Survey (USGS)
- Survey data was collected in 1949, and the map was published in 1968
- Historical 1:24,000 topographical map of Astoria, Oregon, and its surroundings
- Shows Astoria as a significant port city on the Oregon coast
- Reflects the geography and municipal development of Astoria in the mid-20th century
- Created before later population and infrastructural changes in the area
- Features clear contour lines showing elevation changes
- Uses color and linework to distinguish terrain, water bodies, and other landscape features
- Depicts the hilly terrain around Astoria and the surrounding coastal landscape
- USGS maps are authoritative sources for geography and topography
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.
Many of our maps and art prints are chosen as thoughtful gifts for homes, offices, studies and meaningful places.
Choose a framed option for the easiest ready-to-hang gift, or choose an unframed print if the recipient may prefer to select their own frame.
We make orders locally in 23 countries around the world, so gifts can often be produced close to the recipient. This helps them arrive faster, travel more safely, and avoid customs or import duty surprises.
- We can deliver directly to the recipient
- Framed pieces arrive ready to hang
- Unframed prints are carefully packed in a strong protective tube
- Almost every order is made locally, for faster, safer gifting
- 90-day returns give the recipient time to decide
If you are not sure what to choose, please contact us. We can help you pick the right map, size, finish or delivery option.
Most orders are made locally and delivered in around 2–3 working days, depending on the product, size and destination.
We print and frame maps and artwork in 23 countries around the world, so your order is usually made close to you or your recipient. That means faster delivery, less time in transit, and no customs or import duty surprises.
Personalised and customised pieces usually take an extra 1–2 working days, because we prepare your design and send it to you for approval before printing.
Very large framed orders can take a little longer, as they need extra care in production and delivery.
Every order is carefully packaged: unframed prints are sent in a strong protective tube, while framed pieces are securely packed with protective materials around the frame.
If you need your order by a particular date, please contact us before ordering. We’ll check the best production route and delivery option for your location.
Express delivery is available at checkout for most countries. Next-day delivery is available in the UK, US, Singapore and the UAE.
Your order is covered by our 90-day returns policy and 10-year guarantee.
Our standard frame is a gallery-style black ash hardwood frame, with a simple, modern look. It is approximately 20mm (0.8in) wide. You can also view some lovely customer photos of framed maps and art.
We use super-clear acrylic glazing, also known as Perspex or Acrylite, instead of traditional glass. It is lighter, safer, and has lower reflectivity, giving the artwork a clearer, cleaner appearance.
Six standard frame colours are available at no extra cost: black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white, and antique gold. Custom framing and mounting/matting is also available for customers looking for something more specific.
Most maps, art prints, and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced wooden box frame, and then float the piece within a wooden outer frame. The finished result is beautifully presented, with no glazing between you and the artwork.
All frames are supplied ready to hang, with either string or brackets fitted to the back. Very large frames will include heavy-duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.
We can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag, and other materials.
If you would prefer to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read our size guide before ordering.
Every Unique Maps piece begins with an authentic cartographic source or an original design from our London studio.
For our historic maps, we source rare originals from libraries, archives, auction houses and private collections around the world. We carefully restore each map for print—repairing age-related damage, balancing colour and improving clarity while preserving its original detail, texture and character.
Once restored, the map is prepared for your chosen size and finish. Your piece is then printed and, where selected, framed close to its delivery destination.
Our map prints use acid-free 200gsm archival matte paper and fade-resistant pigment inks, creating a rich, non-glossy finish designed to last. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.
Canvas, cotton-rag and other specialist presentations are also available. Learn more about our materials and finishes.
Personalising your map
You can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. For personalised designs, we send a proof before printing and you can request changes before approval.
For more complex bespoke commissions, contact our design team.
Original or Aged
Choose Original for true-to-source colour, or Aged for a warmer, richer antique character created with our specialist ageing process. See examples of our Aged maps.
We’ve been restoring and producing maps and art prints since 1984, and we stand behind every piece.
Every order is covered by our 10-year guarantee and damage-free delivery guarantee. If your piece arrives damaged, we’ll replace or remake it free of charge. If anything else isn’t right, contact our workshop team and we’ll put it right promptly.
See our returns and refund policy for full details.
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