1968 U.S. Geological Survey Map of Great Smoky Mountains National Park

This is a 1968 U.S. Geological Survey topographical map of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and its vicinity. The map depicts the region from the Cherokee National Forest and the Tennessee River to the Pisgah National Forest and from the Bays Mountains and the Tennessee River to the Nantahala National Forest. Highly detailed, innumerable locations throughout the park and its vicinity are identified. Ridges, peaks, gaps, knobs, and tops are all labeled. The Appalachian Trail winds its way across the map, as do numerous other trails (both maintained and not) and roads of varying degree of improvement. Blue colored creeks, rivers, and lakes stand out against the brown terrain of the surrounding mountains. Towns are noted throughout the vicinity of the park, such as Sevierville and Maryville, Tennessee and Robbinsville, North Carolina. Counties are also noted.

Publication History and Census

This map was created by the United States Geological Survey and published in several editions beginning in 1949. The current example was published in 1968. This map is well represented institutionally but is uncommon in the private market.

Cartographer

The United States Geological Survey (March 3, 1879 - present), commonly abbreviated USGS, is an American federal scientific bureau and civilian mapping agency within the Department of the Interior, established in Washington, D.C., and subsequently headquartered in Reston, Virginia. Congress created the Survey to classify public lands and investigate the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of the national domain, replacing separate western investigations with a permanent scientific organization. Its first director, Clarence King (1842 - 1901), organized geological investigations and recruited experienced scientists and topographers from earlier federal surveys. Under his successor, John Wesley Powell (1834 - 1902), director from 1881 to 1894, topographic mapping expanded from support for individual geological investigations into a nationwide undertaking. Congressional authorization in 1882 to continue preparation of a geological map of the United States extended the Survey's work into the eastern states, while systematic topographic mapping received authorization in 1884. Henry Gannett (1846 - 1914), the Survey's chief geographer, helped establish enduring methods and standards for this work. Its topographic quadrangles represented terrain through contour lines alongside drainage, settlements, roads, and other features, furnishing a common geographic foundation for scientific investigation and practical land use. During the 20th century, the Survey's mapping evolved from field surveying and compilation toward aerial photography, photogrammetry, and digital geographic information systems. A formal program begun in 1947 to map the conterminous United States at 1:24,000 scale culminated in nationwide coverage in 1992, comprising more than 55,000 maps. The Survey also produced geological and thematic maps and assembled national geographic information. In 2009 it introduced US Topo, a digitally generated successor to its traditional topographic quadrangles. Its continuing cartographic work includes The National Map, digital topographic products, and public access to historical quadrangles, alongside broader investigations of water, ecosystems, mineral and energy resources, and natural hazards.   Further Details...

Condition

Very good. Text on verso.

References

OCLC 872988124.