Titled “Mount Rushmore Quadrangle,” this U.S. Geological Survey topographic map presents Keystone, South Dakota, and the sculpted highlands surrounding Mount Rushmore National Memorial at the precise 1:24,000 scale favored for field use. Dated 1954 and carrying a 1964 imprint, it preserves a mid-century view of the central Black Hills at a moment when the national memorial was already iconic, yet before later waves of tourism infrastructure and development reshaped much of the visitor landscape. The map’s disciplined contouring, blue waterways, road classifications, and green forest shading combine scientific clarity with visual richness, making the terrain immediately legible: steep ridges, narrow valleys, timbered slopes, and the intimate geography of Keystone’s mountain setting.

The US Geological Survey, founded in 1879, became the nation’s principal authority for systematically mapping the American landscape, and this sheet reflects the agency’s mature mid-twentieth-century cartographic language. Rather than emphasizing pictorial drama, the USGS distilled the Black Hills into measured elevation, hydrography, land cover, and transportation networks, creating a document equally valuable to engineers, hikers, foresters, and historians. Its contour lines reveal the rugged uplift that makes the Black Hills such a distinctive island of mountains on the Great Plains. The map’s careful color hierarchy—greens for wooded terrain, blues for water, fine black and red linework for culture and access—offers a restrained but elegant portrait of a landscape shaped by geology, settlement, and public land management.

At the heart of the quadrangle lies Mount Rushmore National Memorial, the monumental carving of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln that transformed this portion of the Black Hills into one of the most recognizable landscapes in the United States. The map situates the memorial not as an isolated icon, but within its true terrain: ridges, drainages, roads, forested slopes, and the nearby town of Keystone. Highway 244 and Highway 16 trace the growing arteries of access through the hills, linking the memorial to regional routes and visitor approaches. In this context, the map captures the intersection of natural topography and national memory, showing how a mountainside sculpture became embedded in a broader recreational and commemorative landscape.

Keystone appears as more than a gateway town; on this map it is part of a dense mountain network of roads, creeks, and elevations that speak to mining heritage, tourism, and forest use. Iron Mountain, Long Valley, Rapid Creek, and French Creek help define the region’s intricate relief, while Forest Service roads and smaller tracks suggest the working and recreational uses of the surrounding woodland. The shaded forest areas evoke the ponderosa pine character of the Black Hills, where steep granite and metamorphic formations create constantly shifting views and micro-landscapes. Nearby features such as Sheridan Lake, Pactola Reservoir, Custer State Park, wilderness areas, trails, and paths connect the quadrangle to the broader outdoor geography of western South Dakota.

As a historical document, the map is especially compelling for the way it records the Black Hills before the full expansion of late twentieth-century tourism around Mount Rushmore and its neighboring parks. Its meticulous topography makes visible the physical challenges behind road building, trail planning, fire management, and visitor access in a terrain of abrupt slopes and wooded draws. For collectors, the appeal lies not only in the presence of a celebrated national memorial, but in the quiet authority of the USGS style: exacting, functional, and aesthetically spare. The “Mount Rushmore Quadrangle” offers a richly layered view of a famous American place, balancing national symbolism with the measured beauty of the land itself.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Keystone
• Mount Rushmore National Memorial
• Black Hills
• Sheridan Lake
• Pactola Reservoir
• Iron Mountain
• Long Valley
• Rapid Creek
• French Creek
• Highway 16
• Highway 244
• Forest Service Roads
• Custer State Park
• Nearby Wilderness Areas
• Various hiking trails and paths

Historical context & cartographic details

• Map title: Mount Rushmore Quadrangle
• Produced by the US Geological Survey as a historical 1:24,000 topographical map.
• Dated 1954, with a 1964 imprint.
• Published by the US Geological Survey, known for comprehensive mapping and surveying of natural resources across the United States.
• Features a classic topographic style with contour lines indicating elevation changes.
• Forested regions are shaded, with vibrant greens suggesting varied vegetation.
• Water bodies are marked in blue, helping highlight the hilly terrain typical of the Black Hills region.
• Captures the area in the mid-20th century, before significant tourism and development changes related to the surrounding memorial and parks.
• Well-defined contour lines and distinct elevation color variations enhance its utility for hiking and outdoor recreation.

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.