“Monterey” presents one of California’s most storied coastal landscapes through the precise and elegant language of the United States Geological Survey. Created from 1947 survey data and published in 1973 using primarily 1947 survey data, this 1:24,000 topographical map captures the Monterey Peninsula at a revealing mid-century moment, when its towns, military installations, roads, and shorelines were already deeply established yet not fully transformed by later coastal development. Monterey, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Pacific Grove, and Pebble Beach appear in careful relation to Monterey Bay, Carmel Bay, and the rugged landforms between them. The map’s vivid USGS color scheme distinguishes water, urban fabric, roads, and relief, while its contour lines give the terrain an almost sculptural clarity, tracing the rise and fall of hills above the Pacific.

The United States Geological Survey brought to this map the disciplined cartographic style that made its quadrangles indispensable to engineers, planners, naturalists, soldiers, and travelers. Rather than embellishment, its beauty lies in measured exactitude: every street grid, shoreline curve, contour interval, drainage line, and road alignment is part of a broader scientific portrait. Highway 1, the great coastal artery of California, anchors the composition, linking urban centers with dramatic headlands and coves. The map also records the built environment in a period of transition, with residential neighborhoods, military lands, and recreational enclaves arranged beside still-open hillsides and protected coastal spaces. It is both a navigational document and a finely resolved snapshot of landscape organization.

The Monterey Peninsula’s topographic character is especially compelling here. Contour lines gather tightly along coastal cliffs and elevated ridges, revealing the abrupt meeting of land and sea, then loosen across gentler slopes and settled districts. Carmel-by-the-Sea sits near the edge of Carmel Bay, its romantic village plan framed by beach, bluff, and cypress-dotted terrain. Pacific Grove and Monterey curve around the southern shore of Monterey Bay, where the land descends toward one of the Pacific coast’s most celebrated marine environments. Pebble Beach, associated with forested drives, golf links, and secluded estates, appears as a distinctive landscape of roads and contours, positioned between oceanfront drama and inland elevation.

Historically, the map is fascinating for the way it preserves the Monterey area before the full intensity of late twentieth-century coastal growth. Fort Ord, the major military installation northeast of Monterey, marks the region’s strategic importance during and after World War II, when the peninsula was shaped not only by tourism and residential life but also by national defense. The presence of neighborhoods, streets, and institutional lands shows a community expanding within geographic constraints: bay to the north, open ocean to the west, Carmel Bay to the south, and rising terrain inland. Today, many of these places are more densely developed or reimagined as parks and preserved lands, making the map a valuable record of an earlier spatial order.

Beyond its urban and military history, “Monterey” evokes a landscape of exceptional natural drama. Monterey Bay, Carmel Bay, Lagunita Lakes, coastal cliffs, rolling hills, and preserved open spaces together form a richly varied terrain compressed into a small but iconic corner of California. The map’s careful treatment of land and water highlights why the area has long attracted artists, writers, scientists, and travelers: it is a meeting place of marine abundance, Spanish and Mexican colonial heritage, American military history, and refined coastal resort culture. In its contours and symbols, one can trace the physical foundations of a legendary region—where town streets end at surf, roads bend with the cliffs, and cultivated communities remain inseparable from the Pacific edge.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Monterey
• Carmel-by-the-Sea
• Pacific Grove
• Pebble Beach
• Carmel Bay
• Highway 1
• Residential neighborhoods and streets
• Coastal areas and cliffs
• Monterey Bay
• Lagunita Lakes
• Fort Ord
• Preserved natural areas and parks

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
• Created from survey data in 1947 and published in 1973.
• Historical topographical map at a scale of 1:24,000.
• Uses a vivid color palette to distinguish landforms, water bodies, and urban areas.
• Includes contour lines to show elevation and terrain changes.
• Depicts rolling hills, coastal cliffs, and the interaction between land and water.
• Reflects the geographical and urban development of the Monterey Peninsula in the mid-20th century.
• Serves as both a functional geographic resource and a historical document of California’s coastal landscape.

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 24x36in (60x90cm) 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.