Titled “Chimayo Quad,” this United States Geological Survey topographic map presents Chimayo, New Mexico, and its surrounding uplands with the quiet precision that made the USGS quadrangle series indispensable. The map is dated 1953 and bears a 1966 imprint, preserving mid-century geographic knowledge of a storied northern New Mexican landscape. At 1:24,000 scale, it offers an intimate view of the terrain: roads, watercourses, settlements, hills, valleys, and contour intervals gathered into a disciplined cartographic portrait. Chimayo appears not as an isolated village, but as part of a broader cultural and physical landscape shaped by mountains, arroyos, agricultural valleys, and long-established routes linking smaller communities across the region.

The United States Geological Survey brought to this map its characteristic clarity: measured linework, restrained color, and a visual language designed to make landforms immediately legible. Contour lines articulate the folds and rises of the terrain, while green and brown tones distinguish vegetated areas, slopes, and open country. Blue lines trace the presence of rivers and intermittent waterways, vital features in the arid and mountainous geography of northern New Mexico. This is the cartography of observation and utility, but it also possesses an austere beauty—every curve of elevation and bend of water helping to reveal the structure of the land.

The region shown around Chimayo is one of rugged transition, where valleys and foothills meet in a complex pattern of drainage and settlement. The Rio Quemado and the Santa Cruz River help anchor the composition, their courses suggesting both natural movement and human dependence on scarce water. Contours gather tightly over hills and loosen through valley floors, giving the viewer an immediate sense of slope, exposure, and passage. Roads and pathways thread through this terrain, connecting Chimayo with neighboring pueblos, smaller settlements, cultivated areas, and the wider network of northern New Mexico communities shaped by river corridors and mountain edges.

Chimayo itself occupies a distinctive place in New Mexican history, known for its deep Hispano and Indigenous cultural setting, devotional traditions, weaving heritage, and relationship to the surrounding land. A mid-twentieth-century map of the area captures a landscape still closely tied to local roads, waterways, fields, and small settlements rather than broad urban expansion. The surrounding pueblos and villages evoke centuries of layered occupation, from Indigenous homelands to Spanish colonial and Mexican-era communities, and onward into the American territorial and statehood periods. In this context, the map is more than a technical survey; it is a record of continuity in a culturally rich high-desert landscape.

As a historical document, “Chimayo Quad” offers a compelling snapshot of place at a particular moment: New Mexico in the decades after statehood, with traditional settlement patterns still strongly visible across the land. The map’s roads and pathways hint at how people moved through the region; its rivers and contours explain why communities formed where they did. Unnamed hills and valleys are rendered with the same care as populated places, emphasizing the USGS commitment to depicting the whole terrain rather than only its famous landmarks. The result is a finely detailed portrait of Chimayo and its environs, at once practical, beautiful, and historically resonant.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Chimayo
• Rio Quemado
• Santa Cruz River
• Pueblos and other nearby smaller settlements
• Various unnamed hills and valleys
• Roads and pathways in the vicinity
• Water features indicated by blue lines

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the United States Geological Survey as a historical 1:24,000 topographical map.
• Dated 1953 and published with a 1966 imprint.
• Shows Chimayo, New Mexico, and the surrounding terrain, including rivers and landscapes.
• Uses a typical USGS topographic color scheme, with green and brown tones emphasizing land cover and elevation.
• Contour lines are used to clearly indicate elevation changes and rugged terrain.
• Depicts a landscape of valleys, hills, and waterways.
• Captures Chimayo and its surroundings during the mid-20th century, offering insight into the area’s landscape and development at that 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.