Published in 1961 using survey data from 1943, the United States Geological Survey’s “Clearwater” presents a finely measured portrait of Florida’s Gulf Coast at a pivotal moment in its modern development. At the 1:24,000 scale, it captures Clearwater Beach, Clearwater, Sand Key, Mandalay Channel, and the surrounding Pinellas County landscape with the precision that made USGS quadrangles indispensable to planners, engineers, geologists, and travelers. The map records a coastline poised between resort-town intimacy and postwar expansion, where beach communities, causeways, waterways, and inland neighborhoods form a delicate pattern along the Gulf of Mexico. Its historical value lies in this layered timing: the land as surveyed during the wartime 1940s, presented to a rapidly changing Florida in the optimistic development climate of the early 1960s.

The United States Geological Survey brought a distinctive authority to maps such as this, combining scientific rigor with a restrained, elegant visual language. Waterways appear in clear blue, urbanized areas and road networks in red, and parks or vegetated land in green, creating an immediately legible distinction between settlement, shore, and natural terrain. Contour lines and relief treatment reveal the subtle elevation changes of a low-lying coastal environment, where even modest rises, dunes, and drainage patterns matter. The grid system gives the map a disciplined structure, allowing individual streets, bridges, channels, and landmarks to be located with confidence. This is not merely a navigational document; it is a carefully organized study of coastal form, human occupation, and environmental texture.

The coastal geography is the map’s great drama. Clearwater Beach appears as a slender barrier landscape facing the Gulf of Mexico, its sands and shorelines defined against the sheltered waters behind it. Mandalay Channel, Sand Key, and neighboring waterways show the intricate relationship between beach, bay, and mainland that gives this part of Florida its character. Channels, inlets, and causeway approaches reveal how movement across water shaped daily life and development, while the Gulf edge suggests the enduring pull of tourism, recreation, and maritime identity. Nearby islands and coastal preserves, including the Caladesi and Honeymoon Island area, evoke a landscape still balanced between accessibility and wildness, where tidal waters, beaches, and vegetation remain central to the region’s appeal.

Inland, Clearwater is shown as a growing urban center tied to the beach by roads, bridges, and corridors of settlement. The map’s red urban markings trace residential neighborhoods, commercial routes, and civic spaces, including the broader setting of Coachman Park and the city’s waterfront orientation. Road networks such as Gulf Boulevard and Highway 19 indicate the infrastructure that would help transform Pinellas County from a string of coastal communities into one of Florida’s most densely developed urban counties. Seen today, the mapped pattern offers a fascinating comparison with later tourism, condominium, and residential growth. Places that now feel fully absorbed into the metropolitan fabric appear here with more visible edges, open spaces, and undeveloped intervals.

As a historical artifact, “Clearwater” preserves the moment before several decades of dramatic coastal change reshaped the area. The 1943 survey data reflects a Florida still defined by wartime mapping priorities, measured infrastructure, and comparatively modest settlement, while the 1961 imprint belongs to the beginning of the state’s great postwar boom. Beaches that would become internationally recognized destinations, channels lined with marinas, and neighborhoods shaped by automobile-era growth can all be read in early form. The map’s vibrant color scheme and meticulous topographic notation make it both beautiful and revealing: a portrait of Clearwater Beach and its surroundings before modern density fully arrived, yet already showing the geographic logic that made this coastline so desirable.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Clearwater Beach
• Clearwater
• Mandalay Channel
• Sand Key
• Tropicana Field
• Caladesi Island State Park
• Honeymoon Island
• Gulf of Mexico
• Coachman Park
• Pinellas County
• Old Tampa Bay
• Various smaller parks and recreational areas
• Road networks, including Gulf Boulevard and Highway 19
• Waterways and channels
• Urban development areas, including residential neighborhoods
• Beaches and coastal landmarks

Historical context & cartographic details

• Historical 1:24,000 topographical map of Clearwater Beach, Florida, based on survey data from 1943 with a 1961 imprint.
• Made in 1943 and published in 1961.
• Produced by the United States Geological Survey, known for reliable geological and hydrological mapping.
• Uses a clear color scheme, with water bodies in blue, urban areas in red, and parks and vegetation in green.
• Includes a grid system to help pinpoint locations effectively.
• Features relief shading and contour lines to show elevation changes and natural landscapes.
• Reflects land use changes and urban development over time, especially the transformation of Clearwater Beach through tourism and residential growth.
• The vibrant visual style clearly distinguishes urban areas from natural landscapes, emphasizing topographic features and waterways.

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.