Published in 1943, the United States Geological Survey’s “Crisfield Quadrangle” presents the low, intricate coast of southern Maryland with the precision and restraint that made USGS topographic mapping indispensable to planners, engineers, naturalists, and navigators. At a scale of 1:31,680, the map gives a close reading of Crisfield and its surroundings, balancing settlement detail with the subtle geography of tidewater country. Here, elevation is measured not in dramatic peaks but in slight rises, marsh margins, drainage lines, and the delicate boundary between land and water. Roads, railways, shorelines, and place names are rendered with disciplined clarity, creating a historical portrait of a Chesapeake community during the World War II era.

Crisfield, long associated with oysters, crabs, and Chesapeake Bay commerce, anchors the map as both a town and a working waterfront. Its position near Tangier Sound and Pocomoke Sound made it a natural point of connection between mainland Maryland and the island communities of the bay. The map captures the road and rail approaches that tied Crisfield to the wider Delmarva Peninsula, while also showing the watery geography that shaped its economy and culture. Lawson’s appears nearby, one of the local settlements that formed part of the region’s rural and maritime network. In this landscape, transportation routes, creeks, coves, and shoreline settlements reveal a place defined as much by waterborne movement as by roads.

The topographic character of the Crisfield Quadrangle is especially compelling because the terrain is so subtle. Rather than bold mountain contours, the map’s fine elevation lines and notations expose the minute variations of a coastal plain environment: low ridges, marshy flats, drainage patterns, and tidal edges. Water bodies are differentiated through shading and linework, allowing Pocomoke Sound, Chesapeake Bay waters, and Atlantic coastal features to stand out against the mainland. This careful depiction of modest relief is historically valuable, for even small changes in elevation could affect habitation, agriculture, roads, and flooding. The result is a refined cartographic study of a vulnerable and dynamic shoreline.

Beyond Crisfield itself, the map situates the viewer within a broader coastal world that includes Long Point, Long Island, Assateague Island, and the Atlantic Ocean. These names evoke the meeting of protected bay waters, barrier-island environments, tidal marshes, and exposed oceanfront. Assateague, now widely known for its windswept beaches and wild ponies, appears here within a larger geographic system of inlets, shoals, and shifting coastal margins. The quadrangle’s treatment of land and water underscores the instability and richness of the Delmarva coast, where storms, tides, erosion, and sediment constantly reshape the map’s subject. It is a landscape of thin boundaries and enduring maritime significance.

As a 1943 USGS production, this map also offers a valuable historical benchmark for understanding environmental and urban change. Comparing it with contemporary mapping reveals shifts in shoreline, infrastructure, settlement, wetlands, and land use across a region especially sensitive to sea-level rise and coastal transformation. The USGS, founded in the late nineteenth century, brought scientific rigor to the systematic mapping of the United States, and this quadrangle reflects that mission in its precise symbols, measured contours, and practical clarity. For collectors, historians, and admirers of Chesapeake geography, the Crisfield Quadrangle is more than a technical document: it is a finely observed record of a distinctive American coastal landscape at a particular moment in time.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Crisfield
• Lawson's
• Assateague Island
• Pocomoke Sound
• Atlantic Ocean
• Chesapeake Bay
• Long Point
• Long Island
• Various roads and railways in the surrounding area
• Water bodies identified through shading and contouring

Historical context & cartographic details

• Map name: Crisfield Quadrangle
• Produced by the United States Geological Survey (USGS)
• Historical topographical map dated 1943
• Scale: 1:31,680
• Shows Crisfield, Maryland and the surrounding coastal area
• Features topographic lines indicating elevation changes
• Uses shading, contouring, and terrain coloring to distinguish features such as forests and water
• Provides insight into the landforms and geographic character of the Crisfield area
• Offers a historical snapshot useful for comparing changes in land use, urban development, and environmental conditions 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.