1929 National Park Service Motorists Guide Map of Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park!

This is the 1929 National Park Service map of Yosemite National Park. Such maps allowed visitors to navigate the state's roads an visit the park in their own cars, or explore the park on foot via its network of hiking trails.

The Central Map

The focus is a relatively large-scale map of Yosemite. A bold dashed line delineates Yosemite's boundaries, while thinner dashed lines trace the park's trail network. 630 miles of trails crisscross Yosemite, according to the map. Bold black lines highlight roads, while the red line through Yosemite Valley emphasizes the only paved roads in the park. El Capitan, Bridal Veil Falls, and Yosemite Falls are labeled. Text boxes mark ranger stations, telephones, hotels, and campsites. Mountain peaks, waterfalls, lakes, and other natural landmarks and labeled.

The Smaller Maps

Three smaller maps appear as well. Of greatest interest is the detail map of the Yosemite Valley. Here Yosemite's most iconic sites identified, along with campsites, ranger stations, Yosemite Village, Yosemite Lodge, and the Sentinel Hotel. Above this map, in the upper left, a map highlights the routes to Yosemite from Fresno and Stockton and a much smaller map illustrates the road network connecting to all of California's national parks and monuments.

Publication History and Census

This map was created engraved and printed by the U.S. Geological Survey for the National Park Service in 1929. Editions of this map were published as early as 1924 through at least 1932. This is the only known cataloged example of the 1929 edition. We note at most a dozen cataloged examples of all other editions combined.

Cartographers

The National Park Service (August 25, 1916 - Present) is a United States government agency tasked with managing all national parks, most national monuments, and other historical, recreational, and natural properties. Part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Service oversaw 423 units in 2020, sixty-three of which were national parks, and employed over 12,500 people.   Further Details...

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. Light wear along original fold lines. Closed margin tear professionally repaired on verso. Text on verso.