Published in 1980 from 1979 mapping, the USGS “Hood River Quadrangle” presents one of Oregon’s most dramatic river landscapes with the clarity and authority characteristic of late twentieth-century American topographic cartography. Centered on Hood River and its meeting with the Columbia River, the map captures a place where town, orchard country, gorge, railway, highway, and mountain watershed converge. At 1:24,000 scale, it records the area in remarkable practical detail: roads threading along the river, settled districts divided into East and West Hood River, and the contours of surrounding uplands rising from the Columbia Gorge. It is both a working document of terrain and a historical portrait of a Pacific Northwest community at a particular moment in its development.

The United States Geological Survey brought to this map nearly a century of institutional expertise in measuring and depicting the American landscape. Founded in 1879, the USGS became the nation’s principal authority for topographic mapping, producing quadrangles that guided engineers, foresters, planners, scientists, hikers, and local governments. The “Hood River Quadrangle” belongs to that distinguished tradition, combining field survey, aerial interpretation, and standardized cartographic design into an exceptionally readable image of place. Its contour lines, hydrographic markings, transportation symbols, and land-use features form a disciplined visual language. In the hands of the USGS, the map is more than a locator of towns and roads; it is a measured interpretation of slope, drainage, access, settlement, and natural structure.

The map’s principal drama is the Columbia River, the great arterial waterway that defines the northern edge of Oregon and has shaped the region’s commerce, culture, and movement for centuries. Around Hood River, the Columbia Gorge narrows and steepens, creating a landscape of bluffs, benches, creeks, and corridors. Nearby places such as Cascade Locks, Wyeth, and Mosier evoke the river’s long role as a passage through the Cascades, first for Indigenous peoples, later for explorers, railroads, highways, and modern recreation. Rail lines and roads trace the river’s practical geography, while creeks and tributaries descend from the surrounding heights. The map reveals how closely human routes have followed natural openings in this rugged terrain.

South and east of the Columbia, the Hood River Valley opens into one of Oregon’s most celebrated agricultural landscapes, framed by volcanic highlands and forested slopes. The map records the relationship between settlement and terrain: farms, schools, roads, and rural landmarks appear amid a network of watercourses and elevation bands. Contour lines gather tightly along steeper ground, then relax across valley floors and benches, making the topography instantly legible. Mount Adams, part of the wider Cascade volcanic presence, lends regional context to the mapped landscape and reminds the viewer that Hood River sits within a larger realm of snow-fed waters, lava-built mountains, and forested uplands. The result is a finely ordered view of a landscape both productive and wild.

As a historical document, the “Hood River Quadrangle” preserves the late-1970s configuration of a community poised between rural economy, river commerce, and emerging recreational identity. The roads, railways, parks, forests, and urban edges shown here provide a valuable baseline for understanding later growth in Hood River and the Columbia Gorge. The map’s color coding distinguishes water, relief, vegetation, and built features with understated precision, while its symbols translate schools, farms, transportation routes, and civic landmarks into a coherent geographic record. For collectors drawn to the Pacific Northwest, it offers a compelling combination of technical refinement and regional atmosphere: a map of orchards, gorge winds, river crossings, and mountain contours, rendered with the quiet elegance of official American cartography.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Hood River
• Columbia River
• Mount Adams
• Wyeth
• Cascade Locks
• Mosier
• East Hood River
• West Hood River
• Hood River Valley
• Various parks and forests
• Highways and roads
• Railways
• Creeks and tributaries within the region
• Landmarks denoted by symbols, such as schools and farms

Historical context & cartographic details

• Historical 1:24,000 topographical map produced by the United States Geological Survey.
• Dated 1979 with a 1980 imprint.
• Published by the United States Geological Survey, known for its extensive topographic mapping work in the United States.
• Uses contour lines to show elevation changes, a defining feature of USGS topographic maps.
• Employs color coding to distinguish landforms, water bodies, and other mapped features.
• Shows varied Pacific Northwest terrain, including hills, valleys, and water bodies.
• Provides a late 20th-century snapshot of the Hood River area’s geography, infrastructure, land use, and urban development.

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.