Published with a 1967 imprint and based on 1965 mapping, “Ely” is a finely observed United States Geological Survey 1:24,000 topographic portrait of one of Minnesota’s most evocative northern landscapes. Centered on Ely, the map captures the town at a moment when its identity was increasingly shaped by wilderness travel, lake-country recreation, and conservation, while still bearing the marks of mining, logging, and settlement. The USGS’s disciplined cartographic language gives the sheet both scientific authority and visual elegance: contour lines articulate the land’s subtle rises, blues gather into lakes and streams, and greens distinguish the forested terrain that defines this corner of the North Woods.

Ely itself appears as the principal human landmark, a small but significant settlement on the threshold of vast canoe country. By the mid-twentieth century, the town had become an essential gateway for travelers entering the lakes, portages, and forests associated with the Boundary Waters region. The map’s roads, trails, buildings, and symbols reveal the practical geography of access—how people moved through a landscape dominated not by highways and cities, but by shorelines, waterways, and wooded ridges. Nearby places such as Soudan, Bear Island, Shagawa Lake, Snowbank Lake, and Basswood Lake place Ely within a wider network of northern Minnesota communities and natural destinations.

The hydrography is among the map’s most compelling features. Lakes and streams occupy the sheet not as incidental details, but as the organizing structure of the landscape. Shagawa Lake anchors the immediate Ely area, while Snowbank Lake, Basswood Lake, Lake Vermilion, and Lower Basswood Falls evoke the larger watery labyrinth for which the region is famous. These interconnected waters shaped Indigenous travel, fur-trade routes, timber operations, recreation, and later conservation policy. In a place where canoe routes often mattered as much as roads, the USGS’s precise rendering of shorelines, inlets, outlets, islands, and falls gives the map a distinctive northern character.

The topographic character of the Ely region is subtle rather than monumental, and that is precisely what makes the sheet so rewarding. Contours describe a glaciated terrain of low relief, rocky knobs, forested slopes, wetlands, and basins scoured and shaped by ice. Elevation markers and contour intervals help reveal the hidden architecture beneath the forests, showing how small changes in height influence drainage, lake chains, and travel corridors. The use of clear color—greens for wooded land, blues for water, and crisp linework for roads and trails—creates a lucid, almost architectural reading of wilderness. It is a map of terrain experienced intimately, by foot, paddle, portage, and shoreline.

Created by the United States Geological Survey, the map belongs to one of the most ambitious scientific mapping enterprises in American history. USGS quadrangles were designed for accuracy, standardization, and utility, yet they often possess an understated beauty born from their precision. In this Ely sheet, that rigor preserves a mid-century snapshot of land use, access, and settlement at the edge of what is now closely associated with the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. It is valuable not only as a guide to physical geography, but as a historical document: a record of northern Minnesota before later decades of expanding outdoor recreation, evolving conservation priorities, and changing relationships between communities and wild lands.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Ely, MN
• Soudan, MN
• Bear Island
• Lake Vermilion
• Shagawa Lake
• Snowbank Lake
• Basswood Lake
• Lower Basswood Falls
• Tettagouche State Park
• Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
• Forests, including portions of the Chippewa National Forest
• Various lakes and streams
• Roads and trails
• Mountains and elevation markers

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
• Historical 1:24,000 topographical map.
• Dated 1965 with a 1967 imprint.
• Created as part of the USGS’s rigorous and systematic mapping of United States topography and geology.
• Uses a color-coded design, with greens for land and blues for water bodies.
• Includes cartographic symbols for geographic features such as roads, trails, and landmarks.
• Shows varied terrain, including elevation changes, lakes, rivers, and forests characteristic of northern Minnesota.
• Reflects the mid-20th-century geographical layout of the area.
• Useful for understanding changes in land use, development, outdoor recreation, and conservation over time.

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.