Published in 1999 using survey data from 1996, the US Geological Survey’s “Port Orford” captures a dramatic section of Oregon’s southern coast at a precise late-twentieth-century moment. At the 1:24,000 scale, the map gives Port Orford and its surrounding country the intimate treatment of a true topographic portrait, balancing the town’s street pattern with the larger sweep of headlands, forests, streams, and ocean-facing slopes. The Pacific Ocean forms the map’s western edge, while inland contours rise quickly into rugged terrain, revealing how abruptly the Coast Range meets the sea. With its muted USGS palette and meticulous linework, the map offers both technical clarity and a quiet visual elegance characteristic of modern American topographic mapping.

The US Geological Survey, long regarded as the authoritative cartographic voice of the American landscape, brings its exacting standards to this coastal Oregon sheet. Founded in 1879, the USGS transformed the mapping of the United States by combining field survey, scientific observation, and standardized symbology into maps useful to engineers, planners, geologists, hikers, and historians alike. In “Port Orford,” that legacy is visible in the disciplined contour intervals, carefully classified roads and trails, hydrographic detail, and subtle differentiation of wooded areas, open ground, and developed land. Rather than presenting the coast as a scenic abstraction, the map renders it as a lived and measurable terrain—one shaped by elevation, drainage, access, vegetation, and the persistent force of the Pacific.

Port Orford itself is one of the oldest Euro-American settlements on the Oregon coast, and its placement on the map is inseparable from the surrounding geography. The town occupies a rare coastal position where harbor, headland, and upland converge, historically making it a point of maritime interest despite the region’s notoriously exposed shoreline. Nearby Cape Blanco, one of the westernmost points in the contiguous United States, anchors the broader coastal setting with a sense of geographic extremity. The map’s beaches, cliffs, coves, and coastal benches reveal why this area has long been both alluring and challenging: a place of fishing, timber, overland routes, ocean weather, and precarious access shaped by steep slopes and shifting coastal processes.

Beyond the settled areas, the map opens into a landscape of forests, ridges, valleys, and protected lands, including the Grassy Knob Wilderness Area. The contour lines are especially expressive here, gathering tightly along slopes and loosening across gentler terrain, allowing the viewer to read the land almost as relief sculpture. Small streams cut through forested hillsides toward the coast, marking the hidden structure of the watershed. Roads and trails thread selectively through the terrain, suggesting the limits imposed by elevation and dense vegetation. Land-use distinctions—grazing areas, parklands, and forested tracts—add another layer of historical interest, documenting how conservation, resource use, and rural settlement coexisted in this corner of Curry County in the 1990s.

Offshore, the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge adds ecological significance to the map’s coastal drama. The small rocks, islets, and sea stacks along this shoreline are more than navigational features; they are vital habitat for seabirds, marine mammals, and coastal ecosystems shaped by wind, surf, and isolation. On the map, these offshore forms complement the terrestrial detail, reminding the viewer that Port Orford’s geography extends beyond the tideline into a dynamic marine environment. As a historical document, “Port Orford” preserves the area shortly before the twenty-first century brought new pressures of development, recreation, environmental management, and climate awareness. It is a finely observed record of a rugged Oregon coast where human settlement remains closely bound to topography, weather, and wilderness.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Port Orford
• Cape Blanco
• Grassy Knob Wilderness Area
• Pacific Ocean
• Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge
• Various forested areas
• Coastal features, including cliffs and beaches
• Roads and trails in the vicinity
• Land use areas, including grazing land and parks
• Local water bodies and streams

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey as a historical 1:24,000 topographical map.
• Uses survey data from 1996 and was published in 1999.
• Shows Port Orford, Oregon and the surrounding coastal landscape in the late 1990s.
• Created by the US Geological Survey, known for accurate and comprehensive topographical mapping across the United States.
• Employs a muted color palette to represent elevations and landforms.
• Features detailed contour lines showing elevation changes across coastal areas, hills, and valleys.
• Documents the geographical and environmental character of the area before later development and environmental changes.

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.