Published in 1984 from survey work originally created in 1960, the US Geological Survey’s “Fort Collins” presents a richly detailed portrait of northern Colorado at a pivotal moment in its modern growth. Drawn at the precise 1:24,000 topographic scale, the map centers on Fort Collins and its surrounding plains, waterways, roads, and emerging suburban fabric. Pink and red urban tints distinguish built-up districts from open land, while finely drawn contour lines reveal the subtle rise and fall of the Front Range foothills and adjacent agricultural country. More than a technical document, it is a visual record of a university city expanding outward, balancing its historic core, transportation corridors, and rural edges.

The US Geological Survey brought to this map the disciplined clarity that made its quadrangles indispensable to engineers, planners, hikers, scientists, and local officials. Founded in the nineteenth century to systematically study and map the American landscape, the USGS developed a cartographic language of exceptional legibility: contour intervals, hydrographic lines, road classifications, railways, public landmarks, and land-use colors all working together. In “Fort Collins,” that language captures both human settlement and natural form. Highways, local streets, rail lines, schools, parks, and waterways are integrated into a coherent geographical composition, allowing the viewer to read the city not as an isolated place, but as part of a larger regional system shaped by movement, water, elevation, and development.

Fort Collins itself appears as the defining presence on the map, already recognizable as a center of education, commerce, and civic life. Colorado State University, one of the city’s most important institutions, anchors the urban landscape and hints at the cultural and economic forces that have long shaped the community. Around it, neighborhoods, municipal parks, and commercial corridors mark the growth of a city whose identity blended agricultural roots with research, industry, and higher education. The mapped street grid and expanding residential areas offer a fascinating comparison with the contemporary city, showing where Fort Collins had consolidated by 1960 and where later decades would push development farther across the plains.

Water gives the map much of its regional character. The Cache la Poudre River, one of northern Colorado’s defining waterways, threads through the landscape and has historically supported agriculture, settlement, recreation, and industry. Nearby Horsetooth Reservoir stands out as a major landmark, reflecting the importance of water storage and irrigation along the Front Range. Windsor Lake, Twin Lakes, and other smaller water features add further texture to the mapped terrain, linking Fort Collins to neighboring communities and rural districts. These hydrological details are especially compelling on a topographic map, where rivers, reservoirs, ditches, and contours together reveal how settlement followed both opportunity and constraint in a semi-arid environment.

Transportation corridors give the map a strong sense of mid-twentieth-century connectivity. US Highway 287 and Colorado Highway 14 structure movement through and beyond Fort Collins, tying the city to Loveland, the mountain canyons, nearby agricultural lands, and the broader Colorado road network. Historical railway lines, still marked with the authority of USGS symbology, recall an earlier era when rail shaped trade, industry, and urban growth across the region. Seen today, the map is both practical geography and historical evidence: a snapshot of Fort Collins before later waves of population growth, suburban expansion, and metropolitan integration transformed the northern Front Range into one of Colorado’s most dynamic corridors.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Fort Collins
• Cache la Poudre River
• Horsetooth Reservoir
• Windsor Lake
• Twin Lakes
• Loveland
• Colorado State University
• Various neighborhoods within Fort Collins
• US Highway 287
• Colorado Highway 14
• Several municipal parks around Fort Collins
• Historical railway lines previously serving the area
• Key landmarks indicated by symbols and labels on the map

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey as a historical 1:24,000 topographical map of Fort Collins, Colorado and the surrounding area.
• Created in 1960 and published with a 1984 imprint.
• The US Geological Survey is a respected mapmaker known for geological research and detailed mapping used to understand land use, geography, and terrain.
• The map uses varied colors to distinguish land uses, including pink and red hues for urban areas.
• Detailed contour lines depict elevation and topography, useful for understanding the landscape, outdoor recreation, and land-use planning.
• The map provides a snapshot of the Fort Collins area in 1960, allowing comparison with later urban development, land-use change, and population growth.

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.