Nuclear America, issued by the War Resisters League in June 1979, is a bracing cartographic snapshot of the United States at the height of nuclear anxiety. Conceived just two months after the Three Mile Island accident, it distills national apprehension into a stark visual language: a distressed light blue backdrop washed with primary tones, across which alarming red splotches bloom to denote nuclear power plants, weapons complexes, research facilities, and designated targets. The entire national expanse is embraced—from the continental states to Alaska and Hawaii—its calm palette deliberately unsettled by the urgent punctuation of risk. This is both a map and a message, a cool geometry of borders and basins subverted by the hot color of consequence.

The War Resisters League, a long-standing pacifist and anti-militarist organization, fashioned this map as a campaigning instrument and moral provocation. It reframes American space through the lens of nuclear dependence and deterrence, inviting viewers to read the nation not as a mosaic of states but as a network of reactors, laboratories, and potential strike points. The clarity of its legend and the severity of its symbols transform complex infrastructures into legible, public knowledge. In the post–Three Mile Island moment—when technical jargon and reassurances felt suddenly threadbare—this elegant, almost minimalist design became an unequivocal call to see, to question, and to mobilize.

Geographically, the composition is meticulous: state borders are crisply delineated, while major rivers and mountain ranges form a subdued physical scaffold for the overlay of nuclear sites. Patterns emerge at a glance. The Northeast corridor around New York City and Philadelphia registers as a dense band of activity; Chicago anchors the industrial heartland; and the Gulf and interior routes through Texas—linking Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Austin—trace an unmistakable energy belt. Along the Pacific, red forms cluster near Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Jose, marking the tension between innovation, population, and risk. Alaska and Hawaii, too, are brought into the frame, extending the conversation from continental interiors to oceanic frontiers.

A detailed legend clarifies the cartography’s taxonomy, distinguishing nuclear power reactors from weapons facilities, research and development sites, and designated targets. The effect is cumulative rather than sensational: each category adds a layer to an intricate national system in which civilian electricity, military deterrence, and scientific inquiry commingle uneasily. Read against the faint threads of rivers—lifelines for cooling and industry—the map hints at why certain sites cluster along watersheds and coasts, where infrastructure and demand converge. The red forms do not merely warn; they narrate, charting the shared architecture of convenience, capability, and peril that defined late–Cold War America.

Historically, Nuclear America became an emblem of the anti-nuclear movement, a portable stage on which arguments about safety, secrecy, and sovereignty were staged in the immediate wake of Three Mile Island. It helped translate abstract risk into everyday geography, turning familiar outlines into an atlas of accountability. Its spare aesthetic—primary colors, disciplined linework, and emphatic symbols—heightens the moral clarity of its thesis while preserving the cool authority of a map. Today it endures as a landmark of political design and public pedagogy, a document that captures both a charged national mood and the enduring questions it posed about technology, territory, and trust.

Cities and towns on this map

• New York City, NY
• Los Angeles, CA
• Chicago, IL
• Houston, TX
• Philadelphia, PA
• San Antonio, TX
• San Diego, CA
• Dallas, TX
• San Jose, CA
• Austin, TX
• Fort Worth, TX

Notable Features & Landmarks

• Legend: A detailed legend categorizing different nuclear facilities and targets.
• Color Coding: Red splotches indicating different types of nuclear facilities and targets.
• State Borders: Clearly delineated borders of U.S. states.
• Geographical Features: Major rivers and mountain ranges likely indicated, though cities or settlements are not specified.
• Nuclear Facilities: Various types, including research and development sites, nuclear reactors, and targets.

Historical and design context

• Mapmaker/Publisher: War Resisters League
• Date Created: June 1979
• Historical Context: Created two months after the Three Mile Island incident, highlighting public fears associated with nuclear technology.
• Design/Style: Simple design using primary colors with a distressed light blue background. The use of red splotches to indicate dangers associated with nuclear sites effectively communicates the theme of threat.
• Historical Significance: The map played a crucial role in the anti-nuclear movement, serving as a campaigning tool for organizations opposing nuclear power and weapons, and stimulating public sentiment against these technologies in the aftermath of the Three Mile Island accident.

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 90in (230cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

Please note: the labels on this map are hard to read if you order a map that is 20in (50cm) or smaller. The map is still very attractive, but if you would like to read the map easily, please buy a larger size.

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.