Old Map of Depoe Bay, Oregon by USGS, 1957 – Cape Foulweather & Lincoln City

Titled “Cape Foulweather Quadrangle,” this U.S. Geological Survey topographic map presents a richly detailed portrait of the central Oregon coast, published in 1967 from original survey data compiled in 1957. At a scale of 1:62,500, it captures Depoe Bay, Cape Foulweather, Lincoln City, Gleneden Beach, Otter Rock, Seal Rock, and the dramatic meeting of Pacific surf and forested upland. The map belongs to an era when USGS quadrangles were indispensable tools for land management, road planning, scientific study, and outdoor navigation. Its careful contouring, coastal delineation, and color-coded land and water features make it both a practical geographic document and a historical snapshot of a region poised between maritime isolation and expanding mid-century development.

The U.S. Geological Survey brought to maps such as this a distinctive combination of scientific rigor and understated graphic elegance. Established in the nineteenth century to classify public lands and study the nation’s geology, the USGS became the authoritative cartographic voice of the American landscape. Here, its methods reveal the Oregon coast with disciplined precision: contour lines describe the rise of hills behind the shore, blue waterways cut through valleys and ravines, and roads trace human movement along a difficult coastal margin. The neat-line frames a self-contained geographic world, where each symbol has purpose and each change in elevation helps explain how settlement, transportation, and industry adapted to terrain shaped by rain, wind, forest, and sea.

Depoe Bay, one of the most compelling places shown, occupies a small but memorable indentation along the Pacific, long celebrated for its narrow harbor and powerful ocean setting. Nearby Cape Foulweather, named by Captain James Cook in 1778 after encountering severe conditions offshore, anchors the map with a sense of maritime drama and exploration history. The coastline shown here is not a smooth boundary but an intricate sequence of headlands, coves, beaches, and rocky points. Otter Rock and Seal Rock evoke the ecological richness of the shore, while Gleneden Beach and Lincoln City mark the growing chain of coastal communities that became increasingly accessible as Oregon’s highways improved through the twentieth century.

The topographic character of the map is especially evocative. Inland from the beaches, the land rises quickly into broken hills, wooded ridges, and drainage systems that reflect the rugged geology of the Coast Range. The contour lines record more than elevation; they reveal the practical limits of settlement and road construction in a landscape where steep slopes descend toward creeks, inlets, and tide-shaped lowlands. Roads and trails thread through this terrain, showing the relationship between the coastal corridor and the less accessible interior. The Pacific Ocean, rendered in strong contrast to the land, forms the dominant western presence, emphasizing how closely every town, route, and natural feature is tied to the sea.

As a historical document, the map captures the Cape Foulweather region at a revealing moment in the late 1950s, before later waves of tourism, residential growth, and coastal infrastructure transformed much of Oregon’s shoreline. Lincoln City, incorporated in the 1960s from several smaller communities, appears within a landscape still legible as a string of distinct settlements and coastal places. Depoe Bay and its neighboring beaches are shown in relation to roads, elevations, and natural barriers that shaped their development. For collectors, the map offers more than geographic information: it preserves the mid-century understanding of a beloved coastal landscape, balancing scientific clarity with the romance of promontories, surf, forested hills, and remote Pacific horizons.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Depoe Bay
• Cape Foulweather
• Lincoln City
• Gleneden Beach
• Seal Rock
• Otter Rock
• Roads and trails along the coast and through nearby hills
• Pacific Ocean along the coastline
• Various unnamed smaller inlets and beaches
• Topographic features indicating elevation changes

Historical context & cartographic details

• Name of the map: Cape Foulweather Quadrangle
• Produced by: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
• Scale: 1:62,500
• Date: Based on original survey data from 1957, with a 1967 imprint
• Design details: Clear delineation of coastal and inland areas with color-coded topography
• Cartographic features: Contours emphasize elevation changes, natural features, water bodies, and landforms
• Topographic character: Shows the varied coastal Oregon terrain, including hilly inland areas and a detailed shoreline
• Historical significance: Records the region’s geography and infrastructure development from the late 1950s, including evidence of changing land use, population growth, and transportation networks since publication

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.