Published in 1968 from survey work completed in 1965, the USGS quadrangle titled “Augusta East” presents Augusta, Georgia, and its adjoining Savannah River landscape at the highly legible 1:24,000 scale. The map belongs to the great mid-twentieth-century series of American topographical sheets in which scientific measurement and elegant visual order meet: brown contours describe relief, blue lines and washes distinguish water, green marks wooded ground, and the urban fabric is rendered through a precise web of streets, roads, and built-up areas. Centered on Richmond County and the eastern portions of Augusta, it captures a city balanced between river commerce, residential expansion, golf culture, and the shifting land-use patterns of the postwar South.

The United States Geological Survey, founded in 1879, became one of the most important cartographic institutions in the world by applying rigorous field survey, aerial photography, and geodetic control to the mapping of the American landscape. By the 1960s, its 7.5-minute quadrangles had become indispensable tools for engineers, planners, geologists, land managers, and travelers. “Augusta East” exemplifies this disciplined style: restrained, technical, and wonderfully information-rich. Rather than dramatizing the land, the USGS allows terrain, drainage, settlement, and infrastructure to speak through a standardized visual language. The result is a map that feels both official and intimate, translating a living city and its surroundings into a dense, readable portrait of place.

The topographic character of the sheet is shaped by Augusta’s position near the Fall Line, where the rolling Piedmont gives way toward the flatter Coastal Plain. The Savannah River forms the defining natural axis, separating Augusta from North Augusta in South Carolina while tying the region historically to trade, power, and transportation. Lake Olmstead appears as an important local water feature, while creeks such as Keg Creek and smaller tributaries reveal the subtle drainage systems threading through the terrain. Contours, hachures, and tonal changes indicate the area’s undulating ground, showing rises, depressions, stream valleys, and the gentle but consequential elevation shifts that influenced roads, neighborhoods, and patterns of development.

Augusta itself is shown as a layered urban landscape, with major routes and districts clearly articulated. Broad Street, East Boundary Street, Walton Way, Wrightsboro Road, and Cumming Road anchor the city’s circulation, while neighborhoods and localities such as Forest Hills and The Hill convey the residential geography of mid-century Augusta. The Augusta Municipal Golf Course and nearby street names—including Ventnor Avenue, Beechtree Drive, Buttermilk Road, and Quail Run—add a distinctly local texture. Across the Savannah River, North Augusta provides a visual reminder that the city’s identity has long extended beyond the Georgia bank. The riverfront corridor, later associated with Riverwalk Augusta, is especially evocative when viewed in this earlier cartographic moment.

As a historical document, “Augusta East” preserves Augusta at a revealing point in time: modern enough to show the influence of automobiles, suburban growth, and expanding civic infrastructure, yet still marked by older street patterns, waterways, and land divisions. The map predates many later transformations in downtown revitalization, riverfront development, and metropolitan expansion, making it a valuable witness to the city’s mid-1960s form. Augusta’s wider cultural associations—from its long colonial and antebellum history to its twentieth-century prominence through golf and the Masters Tournament—lend the sheet additional resonance. More than a navigational aid, it is a carefully measured portrait of a Southern city in transition, where landscape, infrastructure, and memory meet.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Augusta, Georgia
• Savannah River
• Richmond County
• Forest Hills
• Cumming Road
• Walton Way
• East Boundary Street
• Broad Street
• Wrightsboro Road
• Augusta Municipal Golf Course
• Lake Olmstead
• Ventnor Avenue
• Beechtree Drive
• The Hill
• Riverwalk Augusta
• Quail Run
• Buttermilk Road
• North Augusta, South Carolina
• Keg Creek
• Mistletoe State Park

Historical context & cartographic details

• Historical 1:24,000 topographical map of Augusta, Georgia and the surrounding area.
• Produced by the United States Geological Survey using survey data from 1965 and published in 1968.
• Created by the United States Geological Survey, a U.S. federal scientific agency known for geological and topographical mapping.
• Uses color coding to distinguish urban areas, water bodies, forested regions, and other land types.
• Includes hachures and shading techniques to illustrate elevation changes and topographic features.
• Captures the undulating terrain of the area, including elevations, depressions, rivers, and creeks.
• Reflects mid-20th-century urban development and land use around Augusta.

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.