Published in 1918 by the U.S. Geological Survey, “Cape Henlopen” presents the Delaware coast at a moment when its maritime geography, wetlands, roads, and settlements still retained much of their early twentieth-century character. Drawn at a 1:62,500 scale, the map centers on Lewes, Delaware, and the strategic curve of Cape Henlopen where Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. Its topographical language is precise and elegant: contour lines trace the slight rises and subtle relief of a low coastal landscape, while shaded color and hydrographic detail distinguish land, marsh, bay, and ocean. The result is both scientific document and coastal portrait, capturing a region defined by tidal water, sandy margins, sheltered harbors, and the fragile transitions between firm ground and wetland.

The U.S. Geological Survey, founded in 1879, brought a new standard of national precision to American mapping, and this sheet reflects the agency’s disciplined approach to terrain, settlement, and natural systems. Rather than presenting the coast as a decorative outline, the USGS rendered Cape Henlopen as a working landscape of elevation, drainage, transportation, and habitation. Lewes appears as the principal populated place, linked by roads to surrounding settlements and rural tracts, while the map’s carefully placed contour lines reveal how modest changes in height shaped movement and development. In a coastal zone where inches of elevation could determine marsh, field, or roadbed, this topographical attention is especially meaningful, offering a clear view of how geography governed everyday life.

Cape Henlopen itself has long held strategic importance, guarding the entrance to Delaware Bay and the approach to the Delaware River corridor beyond. On this map, the cape is shown in relation to Breakwater Harbor and the Harbor of Refuge, names that speak to the hazards and necessities of navigation along this exposed Atlantic edge. These protected waters were vital to vessels seeking shelter from storms, shoals, and shifting coastal conditions. The mapped juxtaposition of open ocean, bay entrance, and engineered refuge evokes a maritime world of pilots, fishermen, coastal trade, and naval awareness. In 1918, during the final year of the First World War, such coastal geography carried practical significance as well as local identity.

The surrounding landscape is rendered as a tapestry of bays, marshes, roads, and low-lying terrain characteristic of the Delmarva Peninsula. Rehoboth Bay appears to the south, while the Indian River and nearby wetlands suggest the hydrological complexity of the region. The map’s distinctive coastal representation emphasizes tidal margins and waterlogged ground, where the boundary between land and water is less a line than a living edge. This is a terrain shaped by barrier sands, estuarine flows, salt marshes, and shallow bays, all of which influenced settlement patterns and transportation routes. The sparing but exact contouring underscores the flatness of the coastal plain, making even the smallest rises legible and historically informative.

As a historical record, “Cape Henlopen” preserves a coastal Delaware that predates many later transformations in tourism, infrastructure, shoreline management, and environmental change. The Lewes and Rehoboth region would become increasingly associated with seaside recreation and development, yet this map captures a quieter geography of roads, wetlands, harbors, and dispersed settlement. Its value lies in the way it fixes a particular moment before extensive modern alteration, allowing the viewer to compare early twentieth-century land use and natural features with the present coast. For collectors, it offers more than a map of place: it is a finely observed document of an American shoreline in transition, where scientific cartography meets the enduring romance of bays, capes, and the open Atlantic.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Lewes
• Cape Henlopen
• Breakwater Harbor
• Harbor of Refuge
• Delmarva Peninsula
• Delaware Bay
• Atlantic Ocean
• Rehoboth Bay
• Indian River
• Nearby marshes and wetlands

Historical context & cartographic details

• Historical 1:62,500 topographical map produced in 1918.
• Published by the U.S. Geological Survey.
• The USGS, established in 1879, played a key role in the systematic mapping and geological understanding of the United States.
• Uses a typical early 20th-century topographical style, including color shading to show elevation changes.
• Features clear contour lines outlining the relief and flatness of the coastal terrain.
• Includes distinctive cartographic treatment of coastal areas.
• Captures the area before significant later development and environmental change.
• Provides a snapshot of the early 20th-century coastal landscape, including historic land use and natural features.

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.