Published in 1978 by the United States Geological Survey, “Savannah” presents one of Georgia’s most historic coastal cities through the precision of late twentieth-century federal cartography. At a scale of 1:24,000, the map captures Savannah not as a generalized regional view, but as a finely resolved urban and environmental portrait. Its use of orthophoto techniques gives the work particular documentary force, blending aerial imagery with mapped detail to create a more faithful representation of streets, waterways, vegetation, and built form. The result is a striking record of Savannah at a moment of modern expansion, when historic neighborhoods, transportation corridors, riverfront industry, and surrounding lowland landscapes were all shaping the city’s evolving identity.

The US Geological Survey brought to this map the institutional authority that made its quadrangles essential tools for planners, engineers, scientists, and historians. Founded in the nineteenth century to classify public lands and natural resources, the USGS became synonymous with rigorous, standardized mapping of the American landscape. In “Savannah,” that discipline is visible in the careful differentiation of urban grids, rail lines, parks, marshy margins, water bodies, and subtle variations in terrain. The map’s color language—greens for wooded or park-like areas, blues for rivers and ponds, and sharply delineated routes and structures—allows the viewer to read both the natural and human geography of the city with remarkable clarity.

Savannah itself is the principal subject, and few American cities offer a richer cartographic story. Established in 1733, the city is famed for its planned squares, riverfront commerce, and architectural heritage, but this 1978 view also reveals the metropolitan framework beyond the celebrated historic core. Neighborhoods, road grids, civic spaces, industrial areas, and visible rail infrastructure speak to a city balancing preservation with growth. The surrounding Wilmington area and nearby communities suggest the wider coastal network of settlements, waterways, and transportation links that sustained Savannah’s regional importance. Seen through this map, the city becomes not merely a historic destination, but a living landscape of movement, land use, and adaptation.

The Savannah River is one of the map’s defining features, anchoring the city’s geography and its centuries-long connection to trade. Its channels and associated water features illustrate the complexity of the coastal plain, where river, marsh, pond, and engineered waterfront meet in close proximity. These waterways helped make Savannah a major port and shaped the placement of roads, railways, neighborhoods, and commercial districts. The map’s treatment of blue water forms against green and urbanized areas emphasizes how inseparable the city is from its hydrological setting. In this lowland environment, even modest elevation changes and drainage patterns carry significance, influencing development, transportation, and the boundaries between urban and natural space.

As a historical document, this 1978 USGS map offers a compelling snapshot of Savannah during a period of late twentieth-century change. It records patterns of suburban growth, transportation infrastructure, and land use that can be compared with the city’s earlier historic plan and its present-day expansion. Roads and railways reveal the logistics of a modern port city, while parks and green spaces show the persistence of open land within and around the urban fabric. The orthophoto-based presentation gives the map an immediacy that conventional line mapping alone cannot provide, making it especially valuable for understanding how Savannah’s coastal landscape, civic structure, and built environment converged at that moment in time.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Savannah, Georgia
• Wilmington area
• Savannah River
• Various river channels
• Neighborhoods surrounding Savannah
• Parks and green spaces
• Major roads and street grid patterns
• Visible railway lines
• Urban infrastructure, including buildings and city layout
• Water features, including nearby lakes and ponds

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey (USGS), known for authoritative mapping and geographic data.
• Created and published in 1978.
• Incorporates orthophoto techniques, combining aerial imagery with topographic detail for enhanced accuracy.
• Uses a color scheme to distinguish geographic features, including green for forested areas and blue for water bodies.
• Drawn at a scale of 1:24,000, showing detailed urban and natural landscapes.
• Offers insight into Savannah’s late twentieth-century demographic, geographic, infrastructural, and land-use 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.