Rare Old Map of Pagosa Springs, Colorado by USGS, 1964 – San Juan River & Wolf Creek Pass
Restored in our London workshop from the original 1967 map and printed to museum-grade archival standards. Full description
The Collector’s Offer
Choose two eligible works and receive 20% off both. Choose three and the lowest-priced one is complimentary, a maximum saving of 33%.
Mix and match eligible standard maps and fine-art prints. No code is required; the offer is applied automatically at checkout.
Standard made-to-order configurations are included. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded.
Need delivery to different addresses? Contact us before ordering.The Collector’s Offer
Choose two eligible works and receive 20% off both. Choose three and the lowest-priced one is complimentary, a maximum saving of 33%.
Mix and match eligible standard maps and fine-art prints. No code is required; the offer is applied automatically at checkout.
Standard made-to-order configurations are included. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded.
Need delivery to different addresses? Contact us before ordering.
Restored in London • Printed and framed in the USA
Restored from the original 1967 map and printed to museum-grade archival standards. Full description
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Gift message & custom finish
If you want to add a gift message, or a finish (jigsaw, aluminium board, etc.) that is not available here, please request it in the "order note" when you check out.
Every order is custom made, so if you need the size adjusted slightly, or printed on an unusual material, just let us know. We've done thousands of custom orders over the years, so there's (almost) nothing we can't manage.
You can also contact us before you order, if you prefer!
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Published in 1967 from 1964 survey data, the US Geological Survey’s “Pagosa Springs” captures a celebrated corner of southwestern Colorado at a...
Continue readingPublished in 1967 from 1964 survey data, the US Geological Survey’s “Pagosa Springs” captures a celebrated corner of southwestern Colorado at a moment when the town’s resort identity, mountain setting, and expanding road network were becoming increasingly legible on the landscape. At 1:24,000 scale, the map offers the intimacy characteristic of USGS quadrangles: individual roads, streams, ridges, lakes, and contours combine to form a precise portrait of place. Pagosa Springs itself appears as the focal settlement, long renowned for its mineral hot springs and its late-nineteenth-century emergence as a health and leisure destination. Around it, the San Juan River and nearby uplands frame a town poised between wilderness, tourism, and regional development.
The cartographic language is classic USGS: disciplined, lucid, and rich with practical detail. Contour lines describe the rising and falling terrain with elegant exactitude, turning the surrounding mountains, valleys, and ridges into a readable relief model. Color and symbol conventions distinguish forested areas, water bodies, roads, trails, and built features, creating a map that is both scientifically rigorous and visually restrained. This style reflects the Survey’s mid-twentieth-century commitment to standardized national mapping, in which local geography was rendered through a consistent visual grammar. For Pagosa Springs, that grammar is especially evocative, revealing how settlement occupies comparatively gentle ground while rugged slopes and drainage systems define the wider terrain.
Water is one of the defining presences on the map. The San Juan River, one of the great waterways of the American Southwest, threads through the area, joined by tributaries and mountain drainages that hint at snowmelt, seasonal flow, and the hydrological complexity of the San Juan Mountains. Pagosa Lake and Halls Lake add quieter points of reflection to the mapped landscape, while the East Fork San Juan River gestures toward the higher country beyond. These features are not merely scenic; they shaped travel, settlement, recreation, and land use. In a region known for hot springs, rivers, and alpine waters, the map records the deep relationship between geology, water, and human occupation.
The surrounding country is rendered as a landscape of movement and elevation. Roads and hiking trails trace practical routes through valleys and toward forested heights, while unnamed ridges and draws emphasize the topographic intricacy that defines this part of Colorado. Summit Peak and the broader mountainous terrain suggest the proximity of the high San Juans, where dramatic relief and changing weather have long influenced access and settlement. Wolf Creek Pass, one of the notable mountain crossings in the region, evokes the larger geography of travel through southwestern Colorado, linking Pagosa Springs to alpine corridors and neighboring communities. The map therefore functions as both a local town plan and a gateway into a grander mountain world.
As a historical document, this map preserves Pagosa Springs in the 1960s, a period when the town’s established resort heritage met the modern infrastructures of highways, recreation, and regional planning. Its details invite comparison with later development: the growth of residential areas, changes around lakes and roads, and the evolving relationship between town and surrounding forest. Produced by the US Geological Survey, an institution central to the systematic mapping of the United States, it reflects a tradition in which cartography served science, government, exploration, and everyday navigation. For collectors, historians, and admirers of Colorado landscapes, “Pagosa Springs” offers a precise and atmospheric record of a mountain community shaped by water, elevation, and enduring natural appeal.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Pagosa Springs
- San Juan River
- Pagosa Lake
- Halls Lake
- East Fork San Juan River
- Summit Peak
- Wolf Creek Pass
- Several unnamed valleys and ridges
- Multiple hiking trails and roads
- Various forested and mountainous areas
Historical context & cartographic details
- Produced by the US Geological Survey (USGS)
- Historical 1:24,000 topographical map of Pagosa Springs, Colorado and the surrounding area
- Based on data from 1964 and published in 1967
- Pagosa Springs is known for its natural hot springs and historical significance as a health resort town since the late 1800s
- Shows surrounding mountain ranges, rivers, water bodies, forests, and varied elevations
- Uses clear USGS topographic design, with contour lines and color variations to indicate elevation changes
- Reflects the geography and settlement patterns of Pagosa Springs in the 1960s
- Useful for understanding changes in land use, urbanization, and regional development over time
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.
Published in 1967 from 1964 survey data, the US Geological Survey’s “Pagosa Springs” captures a celebrated corner of southwestern Colorado at a moment when the town’s resort identity, mountain setting, and expanding road network were becoming increasingly legible on the landscape. At 1:24,000 scale, the map offers the intimacy characteristic of USGS quadrangles: individual roads, streams, ridges, lakes, and contours combine to form a precise portrait of place. Pagosa Springs itself appears as the focal settlement, long renowned for its mineral hot springs and its late-nineteenth-century emergence as a health and leisure destination. Around it, the San Juan River and nearby uplands frame a town poised between wilderness, tourism, and regional development.
The cartographic language is classic USGS: disciplined, lucid, and rich with practical detail. Contour lines describe the rising and falling terrain with elegant exactitude, turning the surrounding mountains, valleys, and ridges into a readable relief model. Color and symbol conventions distinguish forested areas, water bodies, roads, trails, and built features, creating a map that is both scientifically rigorous and visually restrained. This style reflects the Survey’s mid-twentieth-century commitment to standardized national mapping, in which local geography was rendered through a consistent visual grammar. For Pagosa Springs, that grammar is especially evocative, revealing how settlement occupies comparatively gentle ground while rugged slopes and drainage systems define the wider terrain.
Water is one of the defining presences on the map. The San Juan River, one of the great waterways of the American Southwest, threads through the area, joined by tributaries and mountain drainages that hint at snowmelt, seasonal flow, and the hydrological complexity of the San Juan Mountains. Pagosa Lake and Halls Lake add quieter points of reflection to the mapped landscape, while the East Fork San Juan River gestures toward the higher country beyond. These features are not merely scenic; they shaped travel, settlement, recreation, and land use. In a region known for hot springs, rivers, and alpine waters, the map records the deep relationship between geology, water, and human occupation.
The surrounding country is rendered as a landscape of movement and elevation. Roads and hiking trails trace practical routes through valleys and toward forested heights, while unnamed ridges and draws emphasize the topographic intricacy that defines this part of Colorado. Summit Peak and the broader mountainous terrain suggest the proximity of the high San Juans, where dramatic relief and changing weather have long influenced access and settlement. Wolf Creek Pass, one of the notable mountain crossings in the region, evokes the larger geography of travel through southwestern Colorado, linking Pagosa Springs to alpine corridors and neighboring communities. The map therefore functions as both a local town plan and a gateway into a grander mountain world.
As a historical document, this map preserves Pagosa Springs in the 1960s, a period when the town’s established resort heritage met the modern infrastructures of highways, recreation, and regional planning. Its details invite comparison with later development: the growth of residential areas, changes around lakes and roads, and the evolving relationship between town and surrounding forest. Produced by the US Geological Survey, an institution central to the systematic mapping of the United States, it reflects a tradition in which cartography served science, government, exploration, and everyday navigation. For collectors, historians, and admirers of Colorado landscapes, “Pagosa Springs” offers a precise and atmospheric record of a mountain community shaped by water, elevation, and enduring natural appeal.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Pagosa Springs
- San Juan River
- Pagosa Lake
- Halls Lake
- East Fork San Juan River
- Summit Peak
- Wolf Creek Pass
- Several unnamed valleys and ridges
- Multiple hiking trails and roads
- Various forested and mountainous areas
Historical context & cartographic details
- Produced by the US Geological Survey (USGS)
- Historical 1:24,000 topographical map of Pagosa Springs, Colorado and the surrounding area
- Based on data from 1964 and published in 1967
- Pagosa Springs is known for its natural hot springs and historical significance as a health resort town since the late 1800s
- Shows surrounding mountain ranges, rivers, water bodies, forests, and varied elevations
- Uses clear USGS topographic design, with contour lines and color variations to indicate elevation changes
- Reflects the geography and settlement patterns of Pagosa Springs in the 1960s
- Useful for understanding changes in land use, urbanization, and regional development over time
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.
Many of our maps and art prints are chosen as thoughtful gifts for homes, offices, studies and meaningful places.
Choose a framed option for the easiest ready-to-hang gift, or choose an unframed print if the recipient may prefer to select their own frame.
We make orders locally in 23 countries around the world, so gifts can often be produced close to the recipient. This helps them arrive faster, travel more safely, and avoid customs or import duty surprises.
- We can deliver directly to the recipient
- Framed pieces arrive ready to hang
- Unframed prints are carefully packed in a strong protective tube
- Almost every order is made locally, for faster, safer gifting
- 90-day returns give the recipient time to decide
If you are not sure what to choose, please contact us. We can help you pick the right map, size, finish or delivery option.
Most orders are made locally and delivered in around 2–3 working days, depending on the product, size and destination.
We print and frame maps and artwork in 23 countries around the world, so your order is usually made close to you or your recipient. That means faster delivery, less time in transit, and no customs or import duty surprises.
Personalised and customised pieces usually take an extra 1–2 working days, because we prepare your design and send it to you for approval before printing.
Very large framed orders can take a little longer, as they need extra care in production and delivery.
Every order is carefully packaged: unframed prints are sent in a strong protective tube, while framed pieces are securely packed with protective materials around the frame.
If you need your order by a particular date, please contact us before ordering. We’ll check the best production route and delivery option for your location.
Express delivery is available at checkout for most countries. Next-day delivery is available in the UK, US, Singapore and the UAE.
Your order is covered by our 90-day returns policy and 10-year guarantee.
Our standard frame is a gallery-style black ash hardwood frame, with a simple, modern look. It is approximately 20mm (0.8in) wide. You can also view some lovely customer photos of framed maps and art.
We use super-clear acrylic glazing, also known as Perspex or Acrylite, instead of traditional glass. It is lighter, safer, and has lower reflectivity, giving the artwork a clearer, cleaner appearance.
Six standard frame colours are available at no extra cost: black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white, and antique gold. Custom framing and mounting/matting is also available for customers looking for something more specific.
Most maps, art prints, and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced wooden box frame, and then float the piece within a wooden outer frame. The finished result is beautifully presented, with no glazing between you and the artwork.
All frames are supplied ready to hang, with either string or brackets fitted to the back. Very large frames will include heavy-duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.
We can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag, and other materials.
If you would prefer to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read our size guide before ordering.
Every Unique Maps piece begins with an authentic cartographic source or an original design from our London studio.
For our historic maps, we source rare originals from libraries, archives, auction houses and private collections around the world. We carefully restore each map for print—repairing age-related damage, balancing colour and improving clarity while preserving its original detail, texture and character.
Once restored, the map is prepared for your chosen size and finish. Your piece is then printed and, where selected, framed close to its delivery destination.
Our map prints use acid-free 200gsm archival matte paper and fade-resistant pigment inks, creating a rich, non-glossy finish designed to last. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.
Canvas, cotton-rag and other specialist presentations are also available. Learn more about our materials and finishes.
Personalising your map
You can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. For personalised designs, we send a proof before printing and you can request changes before approval.
For more complex bespoke commissions, contact our design team.
Original or Aged
Choose Original for true-to-source colour, or Aged for a warmer, richer antique character created with our specialist ageing process. See examples of our Aged maps.
We’ve been restoring and producing maps and art prints since 1984, and we stand behind every piece.
Every order is covered by our 10-year guarantee and damage-free delivery guarantee. If your piece arrives damaged, we’ll replace or remake it free of charge. If anything else isn’t right, contact our workshop team and we’ll put it right promptly.
See our returns and refund policy for full details.
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