Published in 1995 using 1994 survey data, the US Geological Survey’s “The Dalles South” presents a precise 1:24,000 portrait of one of Oregon’s most storied Columbia River communities. The map captures The Dalles at a moment when its historic role as a river crossing, trading center, and transportation hinge was being overlaid with modern streets, highways, reservoirs, and public-land boundaries. Its original title is spare and authoritative, in the classic USGS quadrangle tradition, yet the landscape it records is richly layered: urban neighborhoods, dry hills, creek valleys, and the great river corridor that shaped settlement, commerce, and movement through this part of Wasco County.

The US Geological Survey brought to this map more than a century of federal cartographic expertise. Founded in 1879, the USGS became synonymous with meticulous topographic mapping, producing quadrangles that served engineers, planners, hikers, land managers, and historians alike. “The Dalles South” exemplifies that practical elegance: contour lines articulate the rise and fall of the terrain, while roads, watercourses, built-up areas, and public lands are rendered with disciplined clarity. The familiar USGS visual language—muted colors, clean symbols, and finely measured relief—turns a complex landscape into an intelligible field of information, balancing scientific rigor with an understated graphic beauty.

The Dalles itself occupies a place of exceptional importance in Pacific Northwest history. Long before modern highways and rail connections, the area was a crucial gathering and trading ground near the Columbia River, where Native communities, fur traders, missionaries, emigrants, and merchants all converged. The map’s roads and neighborhoods hint at the city’s continuing function as a gateway between river, plateau, and mountain country. Interstate 84 follows the Columbia corridor, while Oregon Route 197 leads southward into the interior, connecting the river city with the dry uplands beyond. Nearby Celilo Park recalls the vanished power of Celilo Falls, once one of North America’s great Indigenous fishing sites.

Topographically, the map is especially compelling for the way it reveals the meeting of river-cut lowlands and rugged upland terrain. The Columbia River corridor defines the broader geography, while Smith Creek and other drainages carve through slopes and valleys around The Dalles. Contour lines crowd together on steeper ground and open across gentler benches, allowing the viewer to read the land almost as a three-dimensional form. Reservoirs, trails, and hills emphasize a landscape shaped by both natural forces and human use. The broader region also lies within the dramatic environmental transition between the Cascade Range, associated with Mount Hood to the west, and the drier Columbia Plateau.

As a late twentieth-century USGS quadrangle, “The Dalles South” is valuable not only for navigation but also as a historical snapshot. It records the arrangement of residential streets, transportation corridors, public-land designations, reservoirs, and recreational pathways before subsequent decades of development altered the ground. US Forest Service lands and other mapped designations place the urban edge within a wider matrix of managed landscapes, outdoor recreation, and environmental stewardship. The map’s careful depiction of trails, contours, and hydrology makes it a document of both movement and memory: a precise survey of an Oregon community whose identity has long been inseparable from river travel, overland routes, and the commanding terrain of the Columbia Gorge.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• The Dalles
• Columbia River
• Smith Creek
• Wasco County
• Celilo Park
• Mount Hood
• Interstate 84
• Oregon Route 197
• Various contour lines indicating elevation
• Residential neighborhoods and streets of The Dalles
• Natural features such as hills and valleys in the surrounding area
• US Forest Service lands and designations
• Reservoirs marked on the map
• Trails indicating pathways for hiking and recreation

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey, this historical 1:24,000 topographical map is dated 1994 and carries a 1995 imprint.
• The map data is from 1994, and the map was published in 1995.
• The USGS is known for detailed topographical maps used for land use planning, environmental management, and outdoor recreation.
• The Dalles is a significant historical site that served as a key trading post and transportation hub in the Pacific Northwest.
• The map uses a traditional topographic style, with contour lines showing elevation changes and a clear color scheme distinguishing urban areas from natural landscapes.
• The map depicts diverse terrain, including river features and varied surrounding landforms.
• Since the map’s creation, land use in the area has evolved, and urban development may have changed parts of the depicted landscape.

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.