Part of the United States West of the Mississippi River Showing Activities of the Bureau of the Interior, issued in 1927, is a sweeping, meticulously organized portrait of the American West at a decisive moment in federal stewardship. Published by the United States Department of the Interior and engraved and printed by the U.S. Geological Survey, it marries scientific precision with a lucid, color-keyed legend that distinguishes national parks, national monuments, reclamation projects, departmental lands and offices, roads, and rivers. The cartography spans the trans-Mississippi West—Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and their neighbors—binding together rugged mountain chains, arid plateaus, and riverine lifelines with the emerging web of roads and administrative jurisdictions. It is a visual index to the government’s conservation ethos and on-the-ground interventions across an immense, varied geography.

The map is both a catalog of the Department’s reach and a manifesto of early twentieth-century environmental policy. In the wake of Progressive Era conservation, the Interior Department and its constituent bureaus—among them the National Park Service, the Bureau of Reclamation, the General Land Office, and the USGS—coordinated preservation, settlement, survey, and water control. This sheet distills that machinery into legible symbols, placing parks beside reclamation works, and administrative districts beside the rivers they sought to tame or protect. Its 1927 date situates it between foundational park-making and the vast dam-building that would follow, when conservation meant not only safeguarding landscapes but also cultivating them for agriculture, power, and access. The result is a governmental self-portrait rendered with uncommon clarity.

Geographically, the composition reads like a primer in western physiography. The spine of the Rockies descends to the Colorado Plateau and the Great Basin, pushing roads through passes and along valleys; to the west, the Sierra Nevada and the Cascades hem in Pacific watersheds, while to the north and south the Columbia–Snake system and the Rio Grande assert their dominion. The Colorado River threads the desert provinces, foreshadowing the grand hydraulic projects already underway and soon to crescendo. Major tributaries and clear river courses give structure to the map, while state boundaries define civic space against a canvas of mountains, plateaus, and basins. The effect is to show how terrain dictates both policy and passage.

Across this landscape, the parks and monuments form a constellation of protected grandeur. Yellowstone, Glacier, Rocky Mountain, Mesa Verde, Zion, Yosemite, Sequoia, Mount Rainier, Crater Lake, and Grand Canyon anchor the federal preservation story, each crisply denoted and contextualized by the surrounding hydrology and approach roads. National monuments—Petrified Forest, Bandelier, Natural Bridges, Rainbow Bridge, Devils Tower, Hovenweep, Capulin Volcano, and others—dot the Southwest and the northern plains, marking scientific, scenic, and cultural sites deemed worthy of federal care. The legend’s restraint turns this abundance into order, allowing the viewer to trace corridors from cities into sanctuaries and to read, at a glance, the geography of American wonder as the Interior Department defined it.

Equally compelling are the reclamation projects that stipple the arid and semi-arid zones, translating rivers into farms, towns, and power. The Salt River works in Arizona, the Yuma and Rio Grande projects along the borderlands, the Boise and Minidoka developments in Idaho, Shoshone in Wyoming, and the Uncompahgre of western Colorado appear as purposeful nodes along the West’s watercourses. Urban waypoints—Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Tucson, Denver, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque—anchor this network, their roads converging on reservoirs, canals, and administrative sites. Here the Department’s mission is legible as choreography: preservation and use, scenic retreat and engineered promise. This 1927 statement captures the West on the threshold—before the era of mega-dams, yet already inscribed with the federal vision that would shape the century.

Cities and towns on this map

• Los Angeles, California: Population over 4 million
• Denver, Colorado: Population over 700,000
• Phoenix, Arizona: Population over 1.6 million
• San Diego, California: Population over 1.4 million
• Salt Lake City, Utah: Population around 199,000
• Tucson, Arizona: Population around 545,000
• Albuquerque, New Mexico: Population over 560,000

Notable Features & Landmarks

• National Parks: Various locations clearly marked as national parks.
• National Monuments: Specific areas designated as national monuments.
• Reclamation projects: Areas shown where reclamation work was actively taking place.
• Roads and rivers: Clearly visible transportation routes and water bodies.
• Legend: A detailed legend explaining symbols used for different features on the map.
• Political boundaries: The delineation of state boundaries and possibly county lines.
• Topographical details: Mountains and important geographical features.

Historical and design context

• Creation date: 1927
• Publisher: United States Department of the Interior
• Bureau mission: Manage public lands and resources with a conservation focus during a period of significant environmental awareness
• Regions covered: Western United States west of the Mississippi (e.g., Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico)
• Design style: Detailed layout with varied colors representing managed areas and a clear legend
• Engraved and printed by the U.S. Geological Survey, reflecting accuracy and clarity typical of government maps of the era
• Historical significance: Documents early 20th-century federal land management and conservation efforts

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 100in (250cm). 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.