Published in 2003 using 1998 survey data, the US Geological Survey’s “Walla Walla” presents one of southeastern Washington’s most storied landscapes at the highly detailed 1:24,000 scale. Centered on the city of Walla Walla and its immediate surroundings, the map captures the meeting of an established urban grid, agricultural valleys, transportation corridors, and the rising country that leads toward the Blue Mountains. Its title is spare, in the classic USGS manner, but the terrain it records is layered with meaning: a regional hub shaped by Indigenous homelands, overland migration, military presence, railroads, wheat fields, vineyards, and river systems. As a late twentieth-century topographical document, it offers a precise snapshot of Walla Walla at a moment of continuing urban expansion and changing land use.

The US Geological Survey, founded in 1879, became the great cartographic authority of the American landscape, and this map reflects the disciplined clarity for which its quadrangles are renowned. Contour lines, color-coded land use, hydrographic detail, road classifications, and survey grid references combine to create a richly legible portrait of place. At 1:24,000, individual streets, creeks, rail lines, institutional grounds, and subtle terrain changes emerge with remarkable definition. The cartography is practical yet elegant: a restrained palette distinguishes built-up areas, vegetation, watercourses, and relief, while the contours reveal the gentle undulations and more pronounced ridges surrounding the valley. It is a map designed for precision, but also one that rewards close visual study.

Walla Walla itself appears as the principal urban center, its street pattern and civic footprint set among the open lands of the Walla Walla Valley. Nearby College Place, closely associated with educational and religious history, forms an important neighboring community, while Fort Walla Walla recalls the area’s nineteenth-century military and settlement history. The map also situates smaller local names and features such as Grasshopper Flat, Sweets Mill, Garrison Creek, Chappell, and Pine Grove, preserving the vocabulary of a lived-in landscape. Walla Walla Airport, US Route 12, State Route 125, and multiple railroad lines demonstrate the city’s role as a transportation node linking agricultural production, regional commerce, and the wider Pacific Northwest.

Water and terrain give the map much of its character. Mill Creek and the Walla Walla River mark the importance of drainage through this semi-arid interior valley, where access to water has long shaped settlement, farming, and ecological change. The surrounding hills and ridges are rendered through contouring that makes visible the transition from cultivated lowlands to higher ground. To the east and southeast, the Blue Mountains form the great physiographic presence behind the region, influencing climate, hydrology, timber, grazing, and recreation. The map’s topographic language reveals not only elevation, but also the practical realities of roads, fields, waterways, and settlement patterns adapting to the contours of the land.

As a historical record from the turn of the twenty-first century, the map is especially valuable for understanding Walla Walla before subsequent waves of development, tourism, and vineyard expansion further transformed the valley. Comparing its urban edges, transportation routes, open spaces, and water features with the present day can illuminate changes in housing, agriculture, environmental management, and regional identity. Though created as a technical survey document, it now also serves as a portrait of place in time: Walla Walla as a city of layered histories, agricultural wealth, educational institutions, military memory, and natural beauty. Its combination of scientific authority and local specificity gives it enduring appeal for collectors, historians, residents, and admirers of the American West.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Walla Walla
• Mill Creek
• College Place
• Waitsburg
• Fort Walla Walla
• Blue Mountains
• Walla Walla River
• Grasshopper Flat
• Sweets Mill
• Garrison Creek
• Burbank
• Chappell
• Pine Grove
• Yakima Valley
• Walla Walla Airport
• US Route 12
• State Route 125
• Railroads
• Parks and forests in proximity
• Notable hills and ridges surrounding the urban area

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey as a historical 1:24,000 topographical map of the surrounding Washington landscape.
• Dated 1998 and published with a 2003 imprint.
• The USGS is known for comprehensive mapping of the United States and for providing topographical and geological information.
• Uses a detailed color palette to differentiate land uses and elevation contours.
• Features shaded relief and contour lines to illustrate terrain variations, including hills and valleys.
• Provides insight into urban layout, natural landscape, land use, and environmental change at the time of publication.
• Follows classic topographical design conventions, including a legend and surveying grid lines for orientation.

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.