Published in 1985 by the U.S. Geological Survey, “Kanab” presents a precise 1:24,000 topographical portrait of one of southern Utah’s most evocative crossroads. Marked as provisional, the map belongs to the USGS tradition of field-informed, engineering-grade cartography, where contour, drainage, road, and settlement data are assembled into a remarkably legible account of place. Kanab appears not merely as a populated town, but as a settlement embedded within a dramatic landscape of dry washes, creek corridors, ridges, and desert uplands. The map captures a moment in the town’s late twentieth-century geography, before later patterns of growth, tourism, conservation, and land management further reshaped the region.

The town of Kanab occupies a storied position near the Utah-Arizona border, long serving as a gateway between the Colorado Plateau’s iconic parks, canyons, and desert basins. On this map, its streets and surrounding routes are set against the topographic framework of Kanab Creek and nearby drainages, revealing how settlement follows the practical logic of water, gradient, and passable terrain. Roads and trails thread outward from the town toward surrounding hills and open country, recording the relationship between local habitation and the larger regional landscape. The result is a map that balances civic detail with the austere grandeur of the canyon country around it.

As a USGS topographical map, “Kanab” is defined by its disciplined visual language: contour lines articulate every rise, bench, ridge, and hollow, while color gradations and standardized symbols distinguish landforms, watercourses, roads, and built features. This style gives the landscape a sculptural quality, allowing the viewer to read elevation as clearly as location. Unnamed hills and ridges are especially important here, for they form the quiet architecture of the map, shaping movement across the terrain even when they lack celebrated names. The careful placement of information reflects the USGS commitment to accuracy, utility, and clarity, qualities that made such maps indispensable to planners, geologists, land managers, and explorers.

The wider geography evoked by the map places Kanab within a remarkable constellation of natural landmarks, including the Paria River country, Kanab Creek, Zion National Park, Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, and the region now associated with Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. These places speak to the geological complexity of southern Utah, where sandstone cliffs, dune fields, canyon systems, and high desert plateaus meet in close succession. The map’s topographic character helps explain why this region has drawn surveyors, ranchers, filmmakers, conservationists, and travelers alike. It is a landscape of thresholds: between basin and canyon, settlement and wilderness, mapped certainty and immense open space.

Viewed historically, the 1985 “Kanab” map records more than coordinates and contours; it preserves a geographic snapshot of a community and its setting at a particular moment. Land use, residential development, road networks, recreational access, and ecological conditions have all continued to evolve, especially as southern Utah became increasingly central to outdoor tourism and conservation debates. The provisional designation adds a further note of cartographic immediacy, suggesting a working document shaped by the best available data of its time. For collectors, historians, and admirers of the American West, this map offers an elegant, information-rich window onto Kanab’s terrain, its regional connections, and the enduring drama of the Colorado Plateau.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Kanab
• Paria River
• Kanab Creek
• Zion National Park
• Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park
• Mount Carmel Junction
• Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
• Several unnamed hills and ridges
• Multiple roads and trails throughout the area

Historical context & cartographic details

• Published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
• Created and imprinted in 1985
• Topographical map at a scale of 1:24,000
• Marked as provisional
• Illustrates Kanab, a notable populated place in Utah
• Shows Kanab and its surrounding landscapes, including residential areas and natural formations
• Uses distinct color gradients to represent elevations and landforms
• Includes contour lines indicating relief and topographical changes
• Provides a detailed topographical representation of elevation changes in and around Kanab
• Reflects the geographical landscape of Kanab in 1985
• Later changes in land use, urban development, and ecological conditions may have occurred since publication
• Cartographic style emphasizes carefully placed elevation and landmark information, typical of USGS geographical accuracy and detail

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.