Published in 1941, “Woods Hole” is a finely detailed US Geological Survey topographical portrait of one of Massachusetts’s most storied coastal gateways. Drawn at 1:31,680, it fixes the village of Woods Hole within the intricate geography of Cape Cod’s southwestern edge, where land, harbor, and island channels meet in a compact but remarkably complex landscape. The date gives the map particular resonance: it records the region on the eve of America’s full entry into the Second World War, when coastal knowledge, maritime infrastructure, and scientific institutions all carried heightened importance. Woods Hole appears not merely as a settlement, but as a working threshold between Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound, already associated with marine science, navigation, and Atlantic-facing enterprise.

The map bears the authority of the US Geological Survey, an institution whose topographic mapping transformed the way Americans understood terrain, resources, and settlement. Its classic USGS language is both scientific and elegant: contour lines articulate the modest but meaningful elevations of the Cape landscape, while shaded relief and carefully differentiated symbols convey wetlands, wooded ground, roads, trails, shorelines, and built-up places. In a region where small changes in height and exposure shape drainage, vegetation, settlement, and views, this disciplined cartography is especially revealing. Rather than dramatizing the coast, the map measures it with precision, allowing the eye to read the relationship between glacial landforms, sheltered harbors, peninsulas, and the surrounding sea.

Woods Hole itself anchors the composition, framed by Great Harbor, Little Harbor, Nobska Point, and The Knob, names that evoke both maritime utility and New England character. These coastal features reveal why the area has long mattered: protected waters, narrow passages, and prominent points created a landscape suited to ferry traffic, fishing, research vessels, and navigation between the mainland and the islands. Buzzards Bay spreads to the northwest, while Vineyard Sound opens to the south, giving the map a distinctly amphibious quality. The coastline is never simple; it is indented, sheltered, exposed, and punctuated by coves, points, islands, and channels that made local knowledge essential.

Beyond Woods Hole, the map reaches toward Falmouth and Mattapoisett, while the Elizabeth Islands extend offshore like a broken natural causeway between Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound. Naushon Island, Cuttyhunk Island, Wicketts Island, Clay Point, and Palmer Island appear as part of a maritime world in which landforms dictate movement. Roads and trails tie villages, shorefronts, and interior ground together, revealing patterns of occupation before later waves of expansion and coastal development. The map’s quiet detail captures a landscape balancing rural settlement, transportation corridors, working waterfronts, and seasonal coastal life. It is a record of place before many later changes in infrastructure, land ownership, conservation, and environmental management reshaped the region.

Historically, this map is especially compelling because Woods Hole was already emerging as a place where science and the sea were inseparable. Its marine laboratories and oceanographic institutions helped define modern research into fisheries, biology, and ocean systems, while the surrounding waters remained active routes for vessels moving among Cape Cod, the Elizabeth Islands, and Martha’s Vineyard beyond the map’s southern reach. The USGS treatment gives this celebrated coast a grounded, analytical clarity: elevations, roads, harbors, and vegetation are placed into a single coherent field. The result is a richly informative view of a remarkable Massachusetts landscape at a pivotal moment, preserving the meeting point of coastal village, scientific outpost, and Atlantic seaway.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Woods Hole
• Falmouth
• Mattapoisett
• Elizabeth Islands
• Buzzards Bay
• Vineyard Sound
• Laker's Bay
• Great Harbor
• Little Harbor
• The Knob
• Nobska Point
• Wicketts Island
• Naushon Island
• Cuttyhunk Island
• Clay Point
• Palmer Island
• Roads and trails connecting these locations

Historical context & cartographic details

• Published by the US Geological Survey (USGS)
• Created in 1941
• Historical 1:31,680 topographical map of Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and the surrounding area
• Shows Woods Hole, a marine science hub known for its research institutions
• Depicts surrounding areas connected by roads and water bodies, including notable geological features
• Uses a classic topographical style with contour lines and shaded relief to represent elevation changes and landforms
• Illustrates varied terrain, including coastal features, elevations, and vegetation patterns
• Captures early 20th-century land use and development patterns in the Woods Hole area
• Reflects a landscape that has since changed through shifts in infrastructure, environmental conditions, and land ownership

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.