Published in 1942, the US Geological Survey’s “Santa Ana” captures a coveted stretch of Southern California at a pivotal moment in its twentieth-century transformation. At a scale of 1:62,500, the map presents the coastal communities of Newport Beach, Corona del Mar, Laguna Beach, Balboa Island, and the Balboa Peninsula alongside the inland city of Santa Ana. It is a portrait of Orange County before the great postwar surge of suburbanization, when beach towns, ranchlands, roads, trails, and open hills still shared the landscape in striking proportion. The Pacific edge is rendered with the clarity and restraint characteristic of USGS mapping, offering both practical precision and a richly evocative view of a region poised between rural past and metropolitan future.

The US Geological Survey brought to this map the disciplined visual language that made its quadrangles indispensable to engineers, planners, geologists, soldiers, travelers, and collectors alike. Contour lines articulate the rise and fall of the San Joaquin Hills, while color coding and crisp labeling distinguish roads, settlements, waterways, shorelines, and varied terrain. The result is a map that feels at once scientific and atmospheric: the land is measured, but not diminished. Its cartography reveals the topographic drama behind Orange County’s famous coastline, where steep ridges descend toward coves, beaches, marshes, and developed harbors. This balance of empirical exactitude and visual elegance is a hallmark of mid-century USGS work, especially in regions undergoing rapid change.

Along the coast, the map traces some of California’s most storied seaside places. Newport Beach appears with its harbor, Balboa Island, and the slender Balboa Peninsula, a geography of channels, beaches, and waterfront settlement already central to Southern California leisure culture. Corona del Mar sits near the headlands and coves that helped define its scenic reputation, while Laguna Beach is shown against the rugged coastal slopes that have long attracted artists, vacationers, and preservationists. Between these communities, the coastline associated today with Crystal Cove State Park evokes an older landscape of bluffs, canyons, and open shore before modern development reshaped much of the Orange County coast.

Inland, Santa Ana anchors the map’s human geography, linking the coast to the broader agricultural and civic landscape of Orange County in the early 1940s. Roads and trails indicate the connective tissue of a region becoming increasingly accessible, yet still far less dense than it would become in the decades after World War II. The map quietly records patterns of settlement, transportation, and land use before freeways, subdivisions, and resort development transformed the area’s scale and character. For historians of California urbanization, it offers a valuable snapshot of pre-boom Orange County, when citrus groves, small towns, coastal enclaves, and open hills coexisted within a rapidly modernizing Southern California.

The topographic character of the “Santa Ana” quadrangle is especially compelling: broad coastal plains meet mountainous coastal terrain, while ravines, ridgelines, rivers, and water bodies create a layered portrait of land and sea. The Pacific Ocean forms the map’s dramatic western boundary, giving context to the beaches and harbors that would become globally recognizable. Yet the map’s beauty lies as much in its quieter details—subtle contours, named features, road alignments, and the measured spacing of communities—as in its famous shoreline. As a historical artifact of 1942 cartography, it preserves an Orange County still in transition, where natural form, coastal allure, and emerging development are recorded with exceptional precision.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Santa Ana
• Corona del Mar
• Laguna Beach
• Newport Beach
• Balboa Island
• Balboa Peninsula
• Crystal Cove State Park
• San Joaquin Hills
• Pacific Ocean
• Various roads and trails
• Several water bodies and rivers in the area

Historical context & cartographic details

• Historical US Geological Survey topographical map titled Santa Ana
• Created in 1942 and carrying a 1942 imprint
• Published at a scale of 1:62,500
• Produced by the US Geological Survey, known for accurate and detailed topographical mapping
• Features typical USGS cartographic elements, including contour lines, color coding, and clear geographic labeling
• Shows detailed relief of mountainous coastal areas as well as flatter coastal plains
• Reflects 1940s development and land-use patterns before later waves of urbanization and coastal growth
• Coloring and contouring are typical of the era, adding historical and visual appeal

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 18x24in (45x60cm) 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.