Published in 1943, the US Geological Survey’s “Ocean City” presents Maryland’s Atlantic resort at a revealing moment in its twentieth-century transformation. Drawn at a scale of 1:31,680, the map captures the narrow barrier island, its gridded streets and blocks, and the surrounding coastal waters with the calm precision characteristic of USGS topographic work. Ocean City appears between the Atlantic Ocean and the sheltered inland lagoons of Isle of Wight Bay and Assawoman Bay, a geography that defines both its beauty and its vulnerability. The muted pastel palette, clean lettering, and carefully placed contour information create a restrained yet elegant portrait of a seaside town poised between natural coastal processes and expanding human use.

The United States Geological Survey, established in 1879, became one of the great cartographic institutions of the modern world, producing maps that were both practical tools and enduring records of the American landscape. Its topographic sheets were designed for clarity, consistency, and scientific authority, using standardized symbols to describe roads, shorelines, marshes, elevations, waterways, and settlement patterns. In this Ocean City map, that disciplined approach is especially well suited to the low-lying coastal terrain, where subtle changes in elevation, dunes, beaches, and wetlands mattered greatly. The result is not merely a navigational document, but a finely observed environmental snapshot, showing how land, water, and infrastructure met along Maryland’s eastern shore in the early 1940s.

Ocean City itself occupies the map’s central drama: a thin, developed ribbon facing the Atlantic surf, backed by quiet bays, marshy edges, and tidal channels. Once a modest fishing village, Ocean City had by the early twentieth century become increasingly associated with summer leisure, beachgoing, hotels, amusements, and its celebrated boardwalk. The street grid visible on the map speaks to that growth, imposing order upon a dynamic barrier-island landscape shaped by storms, tides, and shifting sands. Worcester County’s coastal setting is shown not as a vague backdrop, but as a living system of beaches, dunes, bays, and shorelines, all interacting with the expanding resort town.

The map’s coastal character is among its most compelling qualities. To the east lies the open Atlantic Ocean, an immense blank field whose edge is crisply articulated by the beach line of Ocean City. To the west, the quieter waters of Isle of Wight Bay and Assawoman Bay form a contrasting world of sheltered inlets, shallows, and wetland margins. These bays were central to local fishing, boating, and ecological life, while also shaping patterns of roads and settlement. The topographic style emphasizes the delicacy of the terrain: here, elevation is modest but meaningful, and the relationship between dry land and water is constantly negotiated across sand, marsh, and developed shorefront.

Viewed today, this 1943 map carries particular historical resonance. Ocean City and its surroundings have since undergone substantial development, especially as postwar tourism, automobile travel, vacation housing, and coastal recreation accelerated. Land that once appeared sparsely settled or environmentally open has in many places been reshaped by roads, buildings, marinas, and resort infrastructure. At the same time, the map records enduring features—the Atlantic shoreline, the inland bays, the barrier-island form—that continue to define the region’s identity and ecological challenges. As a historical topographic portrait, “Ocean City” offers a refined view of a famous Maryland resort before the full intensity of modern coastal development transformed both its landscape and its sense of place.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Ocean City, Maryland
• Isle of Wight Bay
• Assawoman Bay
• Atlantic Ocean
• Worcester County
• Various streets and blocks within Ocean City
• Coastal features and landforms, including beaches and dunes
• Nearby parks and natural areas

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey, this historical topographical map shows Ocean City, Maryland and the surrounding area.
• The map was created in 1943.
• Scale: 1:31,680.
• The US Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the U.S. government known for extensive surveying and mapping projects, especially geological and hydrological mapping.
• Ocean City is shown as a prominent resort town known for its beaches and boardwalk.
• Ocean City evolved from a quiet fishing village into a major vacation destination.
• The map uses a straightforward USGS topographic style, with contour lines and shaded relief to show elevations and landforms.
• A muted pastel color palette enhances readability.
• The map highlights coastal features including the Atlantic shoreline, coastal bays, beaches, dunes, and areas of urban development.
• Since the map’s publication, the area has seen significant tourism-related development and changes in land use affecting the landscape and ecology.

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.