Titled “Golden” and published by the United States Geological Survey in 1944, this 1:31,680 topographical map captures the dramatic meeting point of Colorado’s Front Range and the plains just west of Denver. Golden appears not merely as a town, but as a landscape shaped by geology: Clear Creek cuts through the foothills, roads and trails thread into the surrounding heights, and the nearby mesas rise with unmistakable presence. Created during an era when precise mapping served resource management, infrastructure planning, and wartime preparedness, the map reflects the USGS at its most exacting. Its contours, hachures, and carefully keyed symbols offer a finely measured portrait of a region poised between mining heritage, mountain travel, and expanding twentieth-century development.

The map’s most striking natural forms are North Table Mountain and South Table Mountain, the great flat-topped volcanic mesas that frame Golden’s eastern horizon. Their steep flanks and broad summits are elegantly expressed through dense contouring, making the topography immediately legible and visually compelling. These formations are remnants of ancient lava flows, and their prominence on the map speaks to the geological richness that has long defined the area. Between and around them, the terrain softens into rolling hills, gullies, and creek corridors. The USGS style gives this landscape a restrained beauty: earth-toned relief, crisp linework, and systematic labeling combine to produce a map that is both scientific document and quietly dramatic composition.

Clear Creek anchors the map both geographically and historically. Flowing eastward from the mountains through Golden, it was central to the Colorado Gold Rush and to the development of milling, transport, and settlement in the region. On this 1944 sheet, the creek’s course ties together canyons, lowlands, roads, and the town itself, revealing how water shaped movement and habitation along the Front Range. Nearby lakes, small water bodies, and tributary creeks add further texture to the landscape, while the careful depiction of drainage patterns reflects the USGS’s hydrological expertise. The map invites close reading: every bend, elevation change, and valley floor suggests the long negotiation between human settlement and Colorado’s rugged natural systems.

West and southwest of Golden, the map rises toward Lookout Mountain and the foothill terrain associated with Apex Park and the surrounding trail country. Here the contour lines tighten, signaling sharper slopes and a more mountainous character than the open land to the east. Roads and trails appear as delicate yet purposeful lines, tracing routes through gulches, ridges, and elevated ground. Lookout Mountain, long associated with panoramic views and the approach into the Rockies, gives the map a sense of ascent and anticipation. In the context of 1944, these mapped routes would have been essential for navigation, land management, and planning, recording a landscape before many later suburban and recreational transformations.

As a historical document, this map preserves Golden at a moment of transition. By 1944, the United States was intensively mapping its territory with new urgency, and the USGS brought together geology, hydrology, transportation, and settlement in a disciplined visual language. Golden’s later growth, the expansion of roads, parks, and metropolitan Denver’s western edge, make this sheet especially evocative: it shows familiar landmarks before decades of postwar change. The combination of scientific precision and regional character gives the map lasting appeal. It is a portrait of Colorado’s foothills rendered through contour and symbol, where mesa, creek, mountain, and town are held in balance with exceptional cartographic clarity.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Golden, Colorado
• Clear Creek
• North Table Mountain
• South Table Mountain
• Apex Park
• Lookout Mountain
• Parker Lake
• Nearby lakes and creeks
• Labeled roads and trails surrounding the area

Historical context & cartographic details

• Published by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in 1944.
• Historical topographical map at a scale of 1:31,680.
• Shows Golden, Colorado and the surrounding landscape during the World War II era.
• Reflects a period when the United States was actively mapping geographic features for military, resource management, and planning purposes.
• Uses contour lines to show elevation changes across rolling hills, valleys, and mountainous terrain.
• Employs earth-tone colors to depict topographic relief.
• Includes a legend explaining symbols and hatching used for natural features.
• Provides a record of Golden and its surrounding infrastructure before later urban and infrastructural changes.

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.