Morelos — No. 17 from the second edition of the atlas titled “Morelos,” issued in 1922 by the Secretaría de Agricultura y Fomento through its Dirección de Estudios Geográficos y Climatológicos — captures a state poised between rugged uplands and cultivated valleys. With political and physical geography elegantly integrated, the sheet delineates boundaries, names principal cities and towns, and traces roads and railways with crystalline assurance. Relief shading sculpts the terrain, revealing the dramatic transitions that define the region and its links to the neighboring states of México, Puebla, and Guerrero. A decorative Mayan illustration on the atlas cover signals the era’s embrace of indigenous motifs within official cartography, while the map itself stands as a clear-eyed document of early postrevolutionary Mexico, where planning, infrastructure, and identity were being redrawn together.

At the heart of its authority are the calculations of Ing. Sotero Prieto, Ing. Luciano López Sorcini, and Ing. Ricardo Toscano, whose work underpinned the atlas’s geographic and climatic studies. Their quantitative rigor animates every placement: settlement hierarchies sit with confident spacing, hydrological courses flow with convincing continuity, and transport lines thread the landscape with logical economy. Guided by the Dirección de Estudios Geográficos y Climatológicos, the sheet fuses scientific exactitude with legible design, reflecting a national drive to standardize knowledge for agriculture, development, and public works. The result is cartography that reads as both instrument and insight, where each measured coordinate supports a narrative of modernization across one of Mexico’s most storied states.

The map’s language of light and shadow renders Morelos’s topography with painterly clarity, its darker tones suggesting serrated ridges and highland shoulders, and its paler fields relaxing into arable basins. Political limits are stated unambiguously, yet always with deference to the ground they cross. Cuernavaca and Cuautla anchor the network of towns that includes Jonacatepec, Tetela del Volcán, and Tepoztlán, their names set in clean, dignified typography. Beyond the state line, Chalco, Puebla de Zaragoza, and Iguala serve as wayfinding nodes that pull the eye outward to regional exchange routes. Roads and railways, sensitively drawn, track the easiest passages through valley floors and passes, hinting at the practical choices of engineers, traders, and travelers who worked with the land rather than against it.

Hydrography is mapped with equal poise, the rivers and lakes forming a quiet lattice beneath the settlements and roads. Channels gather out of upland ravines, merge through cultivated corridors, and seek wider basins beyond the state, an aqueous logic that explains much of Morelos’s historical pattern of habitation. The cartographer’s line is restrained but expressive: watercourses taper with plausible finesse, while lacustrine forms sit like mirrors catching the light of the page. Areas of denser population concentrate along these riparian and transport spines, revealing how water and movement underwrite prosperity. The sheet becomes a study in interdependence — relief guiding runoff, runoff nourishing fields, fields sustaining towns — each layer of information supporting the next.

Viewed from the vantage of 1922, this composition is also a ledger of national recovery. In the wake of the Mexican Revolution, official cartography assumed a clarifying role: to reconcile jurisdiction, mobilize resources, and project a shared future. The Mayan motif on the atlas cover nods to a broader cultural reclamation, while the map itself commits to the disciplined grammar of modern statecraft. No. 17 invites cross-border reading, where routes to Chalco, Puebla de Zaragoza, and Iguala become arteries of exchange rather than lines of division. For the connoisseur, it offers a rare equilibrium — scientific poise, sculptural relief, and civic purpose — distilled into an image of Morelos that feels at once exact, elegant, and alive.

Cities and towns on this map

• Morelos:
• Cuernavaca
• Cuautla
• Jonacatepec
• Tetela del Volcán
• Tepoztlán
• Adjacent Areas (State of Mexico):
• Chalco
• Adjacent Areas (Puebla):
• Puebla de Zaragoza
• Adjacent Areas (Guerrero):
• Iguala

Notable Features & Landmarks

• Detailed relief shading representing topography.
• Roads and railroads marked clearly.
• Major rivers and lakes depicted.
• Political boundaries among different states labeled.
• Major cities and towns identified with clear typography.

Historical and design context

• Map Title: Morelos
• Edition Info: No. 17 from the 2nd edition of the geographical atlas titled "Morelos," published in 1922.
• Publisher: Secretaria de Agricultura y Fomento, specifically the Direccion de Estudios Geograficos y Climatologicos in Mexico.
• Important Personnel: Ing. Sotero Prieto, Ing. Luciano Lopez Sorcini, and Ing. Ricardo Toscano contributed to its calculations.
• Region Covered: The state of Morelos, Mexico, including adjacent territories like parts of the states of Mexico, Puebla, and Guerrero.
• Design Style: Relief representation through shading techniques.
• Cultural Significance: Decorative Mayan illustration on the cover, highlighting cultural influences in cartography.
• Historical Context: Documents Morelos in the early 20th century, reflecting development in the post–Mexican Revolution era.

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 70in (180cm). 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.