Published in 1940 by the United States Geological Survey, the map titled “Portland” presents the city and its environs at a pivotal moment, just before the immense transformations of the Second World War and the postwar boom. Drawn at a 1:62,500 topographical scale, it offers a disciplined yet evocative portrait of the lower Willamette and Columbia River landscape, where urban Portland meets farms, forests, wetlands, rail corridors, and industrial districts. The notation of “advance” gives the map the character of a working governmental document, issued to make up-to-date geographic intelligence available quickly. Its muted palette, precise linework, and carefully modeled relief embody the USGS tradition: practical, scientific, and quietly elegant, with the landscape rendered as both navigable terrain and historical record.

Portland appears here as the principal urban center of northwestern Oregon, already a major commercial and cultural hub of the Pacific Northwest. The Willamette River divides and defines the city, its bridges, neighborhoods, rail yards, and industrial waterfront reflecting the importance of riverborne trade and manufacturing. To the north, the broad Columbia River forms a grand natural boundary, linking Portland to Vancouver, Washington, and to the larger maritime and inland transportation networks of the region. The map captures an urban geography still more compact than today’s metropolitan sprawl, with residential districts giving way to open land, orchards, fields, and wooded uplands. Roads and railways thread through this developing landscape, preserving the infrastructure that shaped Portland’s growth before the dominance of the interstate era.

The surrounding waterways are among the map’s most compelling features. Vancouver Lake lies northwest of Vancouver, set amid low-lying floodplain country associated with the Columbia River system. Sauvie Island, framed by the Columbia, Willamette, and Multnomah Channel, appears as a distinctive agricultural and wetland landscape at the edge of the city. These riverine areas were not merely scenic; they were central to settlement, transport, fishing, farming, and industry. The Columbia’s wide course, the sinuous Willamette, and the branching channels convey a region built around water, where geography dictated movement and opportunity. The map’s clear marking of water bodies contrasts beautifully with the finely described terrain, making the hydrology of Portland’s setting immediately legible.

The topographic treatment gives the map much of its period charm and analytical value. Hills, valleys, flats, and river terraces are expressed through contouring, shading, and intricate hachuring techniques characteristic of mid-twentieth-century USGS cartography. The result is a subtle but informative rendering of the landforms that shape Portland: the rising ground west of the Willamette, the flatter industrial and residential districts near the rivers, and the varied elevations leading toward Oregon City to the south. Parks, military sites, rail lines, roads, and settled neighborhoods are integrated into this terrain rather than placed upon it abstractly. This is geography as lived experience, revealing how natural landforms guided development, constrained expansion, and framed everyday movement through the region.

Historically, this 1940 map preserves Portland on the threshold of dramatic change. Within a few years, wartime shipbuilding and defense industries would accelerate population growth, reshape the Columbia and Willamette waterfronts, and intensify the region’s industrial identity. Fort Vancouver and other military associations on the map evoke the area’s long strategic importance, from nineteenth-century fur trade and frontier administration to twentieth-century defense infrastructure. Oregon City, one of the earliest Euro-American settlements in the region and a key site in Oregon’s territorial history, anchors the southern portion of the mapped landscape. Seen today, the map is a refined snapshot of a metropolitan area before postwar highways, suburbanization, and large-scale land-use change transformed the Portland-Vancouver corridor.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Portland, Oregon
• Vancouver, Washington
• Vancouver Lake
• Columbia River
• Willamette River
• Oregon City
• Multnomah Channel
• Fort Vancouver
• Sauvie Island
• Interstate 5
• Roads
• Railways
• Parks
• Residential neighborhoods
• Industrial areas
• Military sites

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in 1940.
• Historical 1:62,500 topographical map of Portland and the surrounding area.
• Provides a snapshot of Portland’s development in 1940, including land use and infrastructure of the period.
• Reflects the area before significant post-World War II urban growth and land-use changes.
• Uses a muted color palette typical of traditional USGS topographic mapping.
• Shows elevation changes with hachures, contour lines, and shading.
• Clearly marks water bodies and emphasizes the region’s terrain.
• Depicts hills, valleys, flat areas, and other topographic features in detail.
• Features intricate hachuring techniques characteristic of USGS cartographic style of the era.

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.