Published in 1959 from survey work completed in 1954, the U.S. Geological Survey’s “Hurricane Quadrangle” captures a compelling mid-century portrait of southwestern Utah at 1:62,500 scale. Centered on Hurricane, the map records a landscape where settlement, irrigation, roadways, and desert topography meet at the edge of the Colorado Plateau. Its original title is plain and precise, in the USGS tradition, yet the territory it describes is anything but ordinary: broken mesas, incised washes, rising ridges, and the corridor of the Virgin River define a region shaped by both geology and human persistence. As a historical document, it preserves Hurricane and neighboring communities before later waves of suburban growth, recreation development, and conservation designations altered the map of the area.

The USGS was, by the mid-twentieth century, the definitive cartographic authority for the American landscape, and this quadrangle reflects its disciplined, empirical style. Contour lines describe the region’s elevation changes with clarity, turning cliffs, benches, valleys, and uplands into a finely legible pattern of relief. The color conventions of the period distinguish terrain, drainage, vegetation, and cultural features without obscuring the underlying structure of the land. Roads, trails, section lines, and settlement marks appear in restrained relation to the larger physical geography, emphasizing how sparse human infrastructure remained in comparison with the surrounding country. This is cartography as both science and visual storytelling: measured, exacting, and quietly dramatic in its depiction of a rugged desert frontier.

Hurricane itself occupies a strategically important position near the Virgin River system, a setting that shaped agriculture, travel, and settlement throughout Washington County. Nearby La Verkin and Toquerville appear as companion communities in a regional network tied to water access, arable ground, and routes through difficult terrain. The Virgin River, with its tributary washes and carved channels, is among the defining natural features of the quadrangle, revealing the erosive force that has sculpted this part of Utah for millennia. The map’s roads and unnamed trails evoke a period when movement across the desert remained closely conditioned by topography. Each contour and drainage line hints at the practical realities faced by ranchers, farmers, surveyors, and travelers navigating this angular, sun-baked landscape.

The surrounding terrain connects the Hurricane area to some of southern Utah’s most celebrated scenery, including the country leading toward Zion National Park. Although the quadrangle focuses on Hurricane and its immediate environs, it belongs to the broader geographic world of red-rock cliffs, volcanic remnants, sandstone benches, and deeply cut valleys that make the region so distinctive. Areas now associated with the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, Quail Lake, and Sand Hollow Reservoir underscore how later conservation and recreational priorities transformed the landscape after this map was made. In its 1954 survey data, the map offers a valuable glimpse of these places before modern reservoirs, expanded roads, and formal protected-area boundaries reshaped public understanding of the region.

As a historical topographical record, the “Hurricane Quadrangle” is especially valuable for tracing change across the second half of the twentieth century. It preserves the spatial relationships among small towns, rural roads, watercourses, and undeveloped desert before the growth of nearby St. George and the increasing popularity of Zion and southern Utah recreation brought new pressures to the area. The marked elevation points and closely spaced contour lines reveal a landscape of abrupt transitions, where relatively settled valleys give way quickly to ridges, mesas, and broken uplands. For collectors, historians, and lovers of western geography, this map offers more than orientation: it is a precise mid-century snapshot of a dramatic Utah landscape at a pivotal moment before accelerated development transformed the region.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Hurricane, Utah
• Zion National Park nearby
• Virgin River
• Red Cliffs Desert Reserve
• La Verkin
• Toquerville
• Quail Lake
• Sand Hollow Reservoir
• Various unnamed roads and trails
• Mountain ranges and peaks identified by contour lines
• Notable elevation points marked with contour numbers

Historical context & cartographic details

• Map Name: Hurricane Quadrangle
• Produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
• Created from 1954 survey data and published in 1959
• Historical topographical map of Hurricane, Utah, and surrounding areas
• Scale: 1:62,500
• Uses contour lines to represent elevation changes
• Uses color and shading to differentiate terrain, landforms, and vegetation types
• Shows varied terrain, including mountains, valleys, water bodies, and rugged Utah landscapes
• Serves as a mid-20th-century historical record of land use, settlement patterns, and topography
• Useful for comparing historical urban development and natural landscape changes with modern maps
• Reflects USGS surveying standards and mid-20th-century cartographic design practices

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.