Old Map of Cedar City, Utah by USGS, 1950 – Parowan, Enoch & Dixie National Forest

Titled “Cedar City,” this US Geological Survey topographic map presents southwestern Utah at a pivotal mid-century moment: created from 1950 survey data and published with a 1959 imprint. At 1:62,500 scale, it captures Cedar City and its surrounding high-desert basin with the measured precision for which the USGS is renowned. The sheet situates the town amid the dramatic transition between settled valleys, forested uplands, and canyon country, offering a portrait of place before later decades of expansion. Roads, canals, contours, and named natural features combine to show not only where communities stood, but how geography shaped movement, water use, settlement, and daily life in Iron County.

The US Geological Survey brought to this map a scientific cartographic tradition developed for mining, land management, transportation, and national planning. Its topographic sheets were not decorative fantasies, but rigorously surveyed records of terrain, rendered through contour lines, hydrography, road classifications, township sections, and carefully standardized symbols. In “Cedar City,” that discipline produces an unusually rich view of a landscape where elevation governs everything. The contours climb from valley floors toward surrounding mountains, while green shading marks forested terrain, including portions associated with Dixie National Forest. The result is a map that reads both as a practical instrument and as a finely composed study of southwestern Utah’s rugged physical character.

Cedar City anchors the map, but the surrounding names broaden its story: Enoch to the north, Iron Springs to the west, Parowan beyond the neighboring valley, and Cedar Canyon cutting eastward into higher country. Highway 91 appears as a vital transportation artery, recalling the pre-interstate era when regional roads stitched together Utah’s towns, mines, forests, and agricultural districts. Main canals and other waterways reveal the engineered importance of irrigation in this arid environment, while features such as Fishing Lakes and the Virgin River system evoke the broader hydrological complexity of the region. The map’s labeled sections and road network create a layered record of settlement, ownership, access, and use.

The terrain shown here is quintessentially southwestern Utah: basin-and-range openness interrupted by abrupt uplands, canyon corridors, and forested mountain slopes. Woodbury Mountain and the rising ground around Cedar Canyon convey the vertical drama east of Cedar City, where travel from town to high country involves a rapid passage through changing ecosystems. The presence of Dixie National Forest places the map within one of Utah’s most varied public landscapes, spanning plateaus, timbered ridges, and volcanic and sedimentary formations. Through closely spaced contour lines, the map makes those changes immediately legible, transforming elevation into visual rhythm and giving the viewer an intimate sense of gradient, exposure, and relief.

As a historical document, the 1950 survey captures Cedar City before the full force of later population growth, suburban expansion, and modern highway development reshaped the area. It preserves a moment when agriculture, extractive industries, forest access, and regional road travel remained deeply connected to the town’s identity. The map’s restrained color palette and dense topographic notation reward close study: green woodland, blue watercourses, brown contours, and black cultural features each contribute to a precise visual hierarchy. More than a locator map, “Cedar City” is a mid-century geographic portrait—an elegant record of land, infrastructure, and community at the edge of Utah’s plateau country.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Cedar City
• Iron Springs
• Parowan
• Enoch
• Dixie National Forest
• Woodbury Mountain
• Cedar Canyon
• Main Canals
• Virgin River
• Fishing Lakes
• Highway 91
• Several named roads
• Various labeled sections
• Numerous contour lines representing elevation changes

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey as a historical 1:62,500 topographical map of Cedar City, Utah and the surrounding area.
• Created using survey data from 1950 and published with a 1959 imprint.
• The US Geological Survey is known for detailed and accurate topographic maps based on scientific surveys.
• Uses color to represent different elevations and landforms, with evergreen areas typically shown in green shades.
• Illustrates a diverse southwestern Utah landscape of mountains, valleys, and waterways.
• Reflects the geographical and infrastructural context of Cedar City before later growth and development.

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.