Published in 1977 from 1963 mapping, “Scottsbluff South” is a finely detailed United States Geological Survey quadrangle capturing a distinctive corner of western Nebraska at a moment of postwar transformation. At the precise 1:24,000 scale, the map presents Scottsbluff and Gering not as isolated towns, but as settlements embedded in a working landscape of river bottoms, roads, rail lines, fields, bluffs, and irrigation-fed agriculture. The title itself evokes the systematic elegance of the USGS quadrangle tradition: a place rendered with scientific discipline, yet rich with local identity. Here the North Platte River corridor anchors the scene, while the rising terrain to the south and west hints at the dramatic topographic character that made the Scotts Bluff region a landmark of western travel.

The United States Geological Survey brought to maps like this a distinctive combination of accuracy, restraint, and visual authority. Founded in the nineteenth century to classify and understand the nation’s lands, the USGS became synonymous with topographic mapping—documents that served engineers, farmers, planners, geologists, and travelers alike. In “Scottsbluff South,” that institutional precision is evident in the careful contouring, the measured depiction of waterways, and the dense network of cultural features. Roads, railways, property patterns, and developed areas are woven into a landscape whose shape is never incidental. The result is not merely a navigational tool, but a mid-twentieth-century portrait of land use, settlement, and terrain in one of Nebraska’s most historically resonant river valleys.

Scottsbluff and neighboring Gering occupy the heart of the map, their urban forms set against the broader geometry of farms, pastures, and transportation routes. By the early 1960s, this region had become an important agricultural and commercial center, shaped by irrigation, sugar beet production, ranching, and the logistical pull of the North Platte River valley. The map records that evolving landscape with quiet clarity: cultivated tracts, grazing areas, reservoirs, and the connective framework of roads and railway lines all speak to an economy rooted in both mobility and land management. Moreland appears as part of this rural constellation, while local features such as West Edge Golf Course and the Country Club reveal the social and recreational dimensions of a growing regional community.

The topographic character of the sheet is one of its great pleasures. Contour lines articulate the rise and fall of hills and valleys, making visible the transition from river lowlands to broken uplands. Winters Creek, Bear Creek, and the North Platte River provide the hydrological structure, their courses tracing the logic by which settlement and cultivation spread across the valley floor. To the south, the Wildcat Hills and features such as Sugarloaf Hill add drama and relief, their elevations and slopes rendered with the precision that defines USGS cartography. Small lakes and reservoirs punctuate the map, suggesting the importance of water storage and control in a semi-arid landscape where agriculture depended on careful management of every available source.

Historically, the Scottsbluff area carries associations far older than the map’s twentieth-century date. The nearby bluffs stood as unmistakable landmarks for emigrants moving west along the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails, and the North Platte River valley formed one of the great corridors of continental migration. By 1963, the same geography that had guided wagon trains supported towns, farms, highways, rail lines, and modern infrastructure. This map therefore captures a layered landscape: ancient landforms, nineteenth-century historical memory, and mid-century development all occupying the same terrain. “Scottsbluff South” is compelling because it translates that complexity into a disciplined cartographic language, showing a place where natural relief, human ambition, and western history meet in unusually concentrated form.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Scottsbluff, Nebraska
• Gering, Nebraska
• Winters Creek
• North Platte River
• Bear Creek
• Wildcat Hills
• Moreland, Nebraska
• Sugarloaf Hill
• West Edge Golf Course
• Country Club
• Various roads and railway lines
• Several unnamed lakes and reservoirs
• Agricultural land and grazing areas

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
• Historical 1:24,000 topographical map of Scottsbluff, Nebraska and the surrounding area.
• Dated 1963 and published with a 1977 imprint.
• Shows detailed topographic features, including contour lines and shaded relief.
• Depicts hills, valleys, waterways, and water bodies, with contour lines indicating elevation changes.
• Reflects mid-20th-century agricultural and urban development in the Scottsbluff area.
• Documents how the local landscape has changed over time.

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.