“Myrtle Beach Quadrangle,” mapped in 1994 and published with a 1999 imprint, presents one of South Carolina’s most recognizable coastal landscapes at the intimate 1:24,000 scale favored by the U.S. Geological Survey. Centered on Myrtle Beach and its surrounding communities, the map captures a moment when the Grand Strand was already a major resort corridor, yet still visibly interwoven with creeks, wetlands, golf courses, wooded tracts, and open coastal terrain. Its careful topographic language—contours, hydrography, road classifications, land-use tinting, and standardized symbols—turns a familiar seaside destination into a precisely observed geographic document, balancing the glamour of Atlantic tourism with the measured discipline of federal surveying.

The U.S. Geological Survey, founded in 1879, became the preeminent American authority for systematic topographic mapping, producing quadrangles that served engineers, planners, scientists, hikers, and government agencies alike. This map belongs to that distinguished tradition: practical, rigorous, and understated, yet rich with historical implication. USGS quadrangles are often prized because they record the built and natural environment at a specific point in time, before later development, road expansion, shoreline alteration, and suburban growth obscured earlier patterns. In the case of Myrtle Beach, the late twentieth-century date is particularly evocative, documenting a resort city in the midst of rapid modernization and intensifying tourism infrastructure.

The Atlantic Ocean and the broad curve of the Grand Strand define the eastern edge of the map, while inland areas reveal the low-relief coastal plain that shapes life in Horry County. Myrtle Beach itself appears as a dense lattice of streets, neighborhoods, commercial corridors, and recreational spaces, set against the open line of the shore. Nearby names such as Surfside Beach, Garden City, Long Bay Estates, and Pine Lakes Country Club speak to the region’s mixture of seaside settlement, leisure culture, and residential expansion. U.S. Highway 17, one of the essential arteries of the coastal Southeast, provides a strong organizing feature, tracing the infrastructure that connected beach communities and fueled their growth.

Beyond the urban fabric, the map’s quieter details reward close attention. Sucker Creek, Horse Pen Creek, lakes, marshy ground, and wooded areas indicate the hydrological complexity of the coastal landscape, where drainage, elevation, and development are closely intertwined. Myrtle Beach State Park stands out as an important preserved landscape amid a heavily visited shoreline, marking the continuing presence of maritime forest, dunes, and coastal habitat within an increasingly urbanized setting. The contour lines are subtle, as befits the low coastal terrain, but they remain essential, showing gentle changes in elevation that affect flooding, drainage, road placement, and the ecological character of the region.

As a historical image of Myrtle Beach in the 1990s, this quadrangle is especially compelling for what it reveals about transformation. The city had long since evolved from a modest seaside retreat into a major vacation destination, yet the map preserves a transitional geography: expanding neighborhoods, established recreational amenities, significant highways, and surviving natural corridors all occupying the same coastal frame. Its color conventions and crisp symbology reflect the mature USGS style, designed for clarity rather than ornament, but the result is quietly elegant. For collectors, historians, and admirers of the Carolina coast, it offers a finely detailed portrait of place at a pivotal moment in the Grand Strand’s modern history.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Myrtle Beach
• Conway
• Atlantic Ocean
• Long Bay Estates
• Sucker Creek
• Horse Pen Creek
• Garden City
• Surfside Beach
• Pine Lakes Country Club
• Myrtle Beach State Park
• U.S. Highway 17
• Residential neighborhoods
• Parks and recreational areas
• Water features and lakes

Historical context & cartographic details

• Map title: Myrtle Beach Quadrangle
• Produced by the U.S. Geological Survey as a historical 1:24,000 topographical map.
• Dated 1994, with a 1999 imprint.
• Published by the U.S. Geological Survey, a major national mapping agency with a long history of surveying and topographic mapping.
• Uses color shading to indicate elevation changes and land use, in keeping with typical USGS design.
• Shows a mix of developed areas and natural landscapes.
• Includes contour lines to represent variations in elevation.
• Employs standard map symbols and land-use delineation to support navigation and geographic understanding.
• Reflects the impact of urban development on Myrtle Beach during a period of notable growth in tourism and infrastructure since the 1990s.

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.