Published in 1978 from survey work completed in 1975, “Ames East” presents the United States Geological Survey’s precise portrait of Ames, Iowa, and its surrounding countryside at a moment of late-twentieth-century transition. At the 1:24,000 scale, the map balances urban detail with the broader patterns of Story County’s agricultural landscape, showing the eastern side of Ames, nearby rural communities, roads, drainage, vegetation, and elevation with the clarity characteristic of USGS quadrangles. The title itself is elegantly functional, identifying a specific portion of a larger mapped landscape, yet the sheet captures far more than location: it records the relationship between a growing university city and the fields, waterways, and small settlements that framed its expansion in the 1970s.

The cartographic language of the USGS is especially compelling here. Contour lines articulate subtle changes in elevation across central Iowa’s gently rolling terrain, while color distinguishes built-up areas, vegetation, water features, and transport routes. Greens mark wooded or vegetated ground; blues trace streams, drainage channels, and lake areas; and the fine network of roads reveals the practical geography of movement between town, farm, and campus. The result is a map of quiet precision, designed for navigation and scientific use yet visually rich in its layered depiction of land use. Its legend, scale, and standardized symbology make the sheet immediately legible, reflecting the USGS tradition of combining technical authority with understated graphic elegance.

Ames itself is the natural focus of the map, a city whose identity has long been shaped by Iowa State University. By the 1970s, the university was already a major intellectual, economic, and cultural force, influencing patterns of housing, transportation, public facilities, and regional growth. Although the map’s purpose is topographic rather than promotional, it quietly reveals the infrastructure of a university town: streets extending from the urban core, highways connecting Ames to the wider state, and the rural surroundings that remained integral to its character. The juxtaposition of academic city and agricultural hinterland is particularly apt for Ames, where research, engineering, and agricultural science have historically met the practical landscapes of Iowa farming.

Beyond Ames, the map includes smaller named places such as Milford, Frank, Grant, and Washington, situating the city within a constellation of rural communities and township landscapes. Minor roads, scattered structures, and cultivated tracts speak to the dispersed settlement patterns typical of central Iowa, where farmsteads and local routes form an intricate human geography. Rivers and drainage systems cut across this ordered grid, reminding the viewer that even in a highly cultivated region, natural landforms continue to shape development. The lake areas, green spaces, and mapped vegetation add further texture, offering clues to recreation, conservation, and low-lying ground within a predominantly agricultural setting.

As a historical document, “Ames East” offers a valuable snapshot of Ames and its environs shortly before the accelerated suburban and infrastructural changes of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Comparing this 1975-surveyed landscape with contemporary mapping reveals shifts in urban expansion, road development, institutional growth, and the conversion of rural land at the city’s edge. Yet the map is more than a record of change; it is an artifact of American scientific cartography at a mature moment, when the USGS quadrangle series provided an authoritative visual inventory of the nation. For collectors, historians, and admirers of Iowa’s landscapes, it captures the measured beauty of place with remarkable discipline and depth.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Ames, Iowa
• Milford, Iowa
• Frank, Iowa
• Grant, Iowa
• Washington, Iowa
• Iowa State University landmarks near Ames
• Lake areas
• River systems
• Highways
• Minor and local roads
• Parks and green spaces
• Rural structures and facilities

Historical context & cartographic details

• Historical USGS 1:24,000 topographical map titled Ames East
• Survey data from 1975, with a 1978 imprint
• Published by the United States Geological Survey (USGS)
• Shows Ames, Iowa, and the surrounding rural landscape in the late 1970s
• Ames is home to Iowa State University, an important influence on the city’s development and identity
• Uses color to distinguish land uses, including greens for vegetated areas
• Includes contour lines to show elevation changes
• Features rivers, lakes, vegetation, and other topographic details
• Includes a clear legend and scale for navigation and map reading
• Provides a historical snapshot useful for comparing urban development and land-use change 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.