“Cedar Point,” published by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1943, is a finely detailed topographical portrait of Alabama’s Gulf Coast at a scale of 1:62,500. Centered on the low, intricate coastal country around Dauphin Island, Mobile Bay, and Mississippi Sound, the map captures a landscape defined by water, marsh, sand, and strategic shoreline. Its title evokes Cedar Point, the mainland threshold to Dauphin Island, but the sheet ranges across a broader maritime geography, including Fort Gaines, Fort Morgan, Bayou La Batre, Grand Bay, Dog River, and the barrier-island chain stretching toward Petit Bois and Horn Island. Created from wartime-era survey work, it preserves a moment when accurate coastal mapping was vital for navigation, defense, infrastructure, and environmental understanding.

The U.S. Geological Survey brought to this map the disciplined visual language that made its topographic sheets indispensable throughout the twentieth century. Color coding distinguishes land, water, vegetation, and built features with clarity, while contour lines trace even subtle elevation changes across an exceptionally low coastal terrain. In a region where a few feet of relief can shape drainage, settlement, road placement, and storm vulnerability, these contours are more than technical marks; they are the map’s quiet narrative of land meeting sea. Greens suggest vegetated areas and wetlands, blues define bays, sounds, rivers, and bayous, and the overall composition reveals the careful balance between scientific measurement and legible design characteristic of USGS cartography.

Dauphin Island forms the emotional and geographic heart of the sheet, lying between the open Gulf environment and the protected waters of Mobile Bay. Fort Gaines, guarding the island’s eastern end, appears within a historic military landscape linked to the defense of Mobile Bay, opposite Fort Morgan across the channel. This pairing evokes one of the Gulf Coast’s most storied entrances, where currents, shoals, and strategic headlands shaped both commerce and conflict. The map also situates Dauphin Island within a wider chain of barrier islands, including Petit Bois Island and Horn Island, emphasizing the dynamic coastal system that protects the mainland while constantly being reshaped by tides, storms, and sediment.

North and west of the island, the map opens into the intricate shorelines and waterways of coastal Alabama. Bayou La Batre, long associated with fishing, boatbuilding, and Gulf seafood culture, sits among tidal creeks, marshes, and low-lying routes that reveal how closely human settlement depended on navigable water. Grand Bay, Halls Mill, Dog River, Point aux Pines, Faulkner Island, and Islander Point appear as part of a dispersed coastal network tied to Mobile and its bay. The sheet’s topographic character makes visible the subtle hydrology of the region: bayous threading inland, wetlands grading into higher ground, and roads following the narrow opportunities offered by dry, stable terrain.

As a historical document, “Cedar Point” offers a compelling baseline for understanding decades of coastal change. Produced in 1943, it belongs to an era when the Gulf Coast was being mapped with increasing precision for military, transportation, and planning purposes; in later years, such surveys would become invaluable for postwar development, environmental study, and coastal management. Comparing its depiction of marshes, shorelines, islands, and settlements with the modern landscape reveals the long pressures of urban expansion, hurricane impact, erosion, dredging, and infrastructure growth. Its beauty lies not only in its restrained cartographic style, but in its ability to capture a fragile, shifting coast at a specific historical moment.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Dauphin Island
• Mobile
• Mobile Bay
• Mississippi Sound
• Petit Bois Island
• Horn Island
• Grand Bay
• Fort Gaines
• Fort Morgan
• Halls Mill
• Bayou La Batre
• Dog River
• Faulkner Island
• Point aux Pines
• Islander Point
• Cedar Point

Historical context & cartographic details

• Published by the US Geological Survey.
• Created in 1943 using survey data from the same year.
• Historical topographical map at a scale of 1:62,500.
• Shows the layout and features of Dauphin Island, Alabama, and the surrounding coastal area.
• Uses color coding and contour lines to show elevation changes, land use, and topographic detail.
• Highlights coastal features, wetlands, and subtle elevation changes important for understanding drainage and water flow.
• Reflects a period of post-war planning and provides insight into later geographical, infrastructural, urban, and coastal-management changes.
• The US Geological Survey is known for producing detailed topographical maps used in environmental studies, urban planning, and outdoor recreation.

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.