Published in 1967 from 1954 mapping, the USGS “Biloxi Quadrangle” captures the Mississippi Gulf Coast at a pivotal mid-century moment, when coastal communities were expanding, transportation corridors were tightening their grip, and low-lying shorelands remained deeply shaped by water, marsh, and storm. Centered on Biloxi and Ocean Springs, the map presents a 1:62,500 topographic portrait of a flat but intricate coastal landscape, where the Back Bay of Biloxi, Mississippi Sound, creeks, lakes, wetlands, roads, and railways form an interlocking geography. Its clear color scheme—especially the red shading used for built-up areas—makes the urban fabric immediately legible against the greens of vegetation and the blues of waterways, a hallmark of practical, elegant USGS design.

The United States Geological Survey brought to this map the institutional precision for which it had become indispensable since the late nineteenth century. USGS quadrangles were never merely navigational aids; they were instruments of national knowledge, used in engineering, planning, resource management, defense, hydrology, and environmental study. In the Biloxi area, that mission required particular sensitivity to subtle terrain. Elevation changes are modest, yet significant, and the contour lines reveal how barely perceptible rises and depressions structure settlement, drainage, and vulnerability. The result is a map that conveys the quiet drama of the Gulf Coast: a place where land and water meet not as a simple boundary, but as a shifting, porous, and economically vital zone.

Biloxi appears as the principal urban presence, its streets and developed areas standing out along the coast and near the Back Bay. By the 1950s, Biloxi was already a distinctive Gulf city, known for its seafood industry, maritime culture, military associations, and resort life. The map records this civic landscape through its street grid, roads, rail connections, and shoreline features, offering a view of the city before later waves of development and storm-driven transformation altered the coast. Ocean Springs, across the water to the east, is shown in relation to the same coastal system, connected by routes yet separated by bays, channels, and marshy margins that define the region’s character.

The waterways are among the map’s most compelling features. Mississippi Sound stretches along the southern margin, while the Back Bay of Biloxi opens inland, creating a sheltered but complex marine environment. Riverton Creek, Big Lake, and nearby wetland areas emphasize the hydrological richness of the quadrangle, with low marshes and natural vegetation rendered as essential components of the mapped terrain. Depth indications and coastal contours add further practical detail, reminding the viewer that this was a working coastal map, useful to planners, engineers, and anyone concerned with drainage, access, or shoreline conditions. The shoreline itself is especially evocative: sinuous, vulnerable, and alive with tidal influence.

As a historical document, the “Biloxi Quadrangle” preserves a Gulf Coast landscape poised between older coastal rhythms and modern expansion. Roads and highways trace the growing importance of automobile movement, while railways recall the infrastructure that long linked the seafood, timber, and tourism economies of the region to broader markets. Parks, natural areas, wetlands, and settled neighborhoods coexist in a delicate spatial balance, one that subsequent hurricanes, urban growth, and environmental change would repeatedly test. The map’s disciplined USGS symbology gives this history a crisp visual order, allowing the viewer to read not only where Biloxi and Ocean Springs stood in the mid-twentieth century, but how profoundly their futures depended on the surrounding water, land, and weather.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Biloxi
• Ocean Springs
• Back Bay of Biloxi
• Mississippi Sound
• Riverton Creek
• Big Lake
• Lakeside or nearby areas
• Various roads and highways
• Railways
• Parks
• Coastline
• Natural areas and wetlands

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey as a historical 1:62,500 topographical map of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
• Dated 1954 with a 1967 imprint.
• Published by the US Geological Survey, an agency with a long history of mapping the United States for infrastructure, land-use, and environmental purposes.
• Uses a clear color scheme to distinguish populated areas, vegetation, and waterways.
• Red shading indicates urban areas, improving legibility for planning and navigation.
• Shows a flat coastal landscape with elevation contours, water bodies, vegetation, marshy areas, and shoreline detail.
• Includes scale bars and contour lines to denote elevation and depth in surrounding waters.
• Documents mid-20th-century development around the Biloxi area, including changes in urban growth, storm impact, and land use.

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.