Published in 1944, the U.S. Geological Survey’s “Provincetown, Massachusetts” presents the far curled tip of Cape Cod with the precision and restraint that made USGS topographic maps indispensable to travelers, planners, scientists, and historians. At a scale of 1:31,680, it captures Provincetown at a revealing mid-century moment, before many later changes to roads, shorelines, tourism infrastructure, and protected landscapes altered the visual and human geography of the Outer Cape. The map’s fine contour work traces the low but varied relief of dunes, coastal rises, marsh margins, and settled ground, while its careful labeling fixes familiar names—Provincetown Harbor, Herring Cove, Race Point, and MacMillan Pier—within a broader Atlantic landscape shaped by wind, tide, and sand.

Provincetown itself appears as the principal settlement, compressed between harbor and open sea at one of New England’s most dramatic coastal locations. Long known as a fishing port, artists’ colony, and maritime refuge, the town occupies a naturally sheltered curve on Cape Cod Bay, where Provincetown Harbor offered anchorage at the edge of the Atlantic. MacMillan Pier, shown extending into the harbor, evokes the town’s working waterfront and its connections to fishing fleets, ferries, and coastal commerce. Beyond the denser street pattern of town, the map opens into a landscape of dunes, roads, trails, beaches, and scattered vegetation, revealing the delicate balance between human occupation and the restless coastal environment that has always defined Provincetown.

The cartographic language of the USGS is particularly effective here, using color, contour, and symbol to convey a richly varied coastal terrain. Shades of green and brown distinguish vegetation, landform, and elevation, while contour lines articulate the subtle undulations of the Outer Cape’s sandy surface. Unlike maps of mountainous regions, this sheet rewards close looking: minor rises, marsh edges, dune fields, and shoreline curves become the essential drama. Herring Cove and Race Point Beach anchor the ocean-facing side of the map, where the Cape meets the Atlantic in a shifting zone of surf, sandbars, and exposed shore. Inland, marshes and woodland areas add texture to a landscape often imagined only as beach and harbor.

Race Point, one of the defining landmarks of the map, marks the northern extremity of Cape Cod and one of its most historically significant maritime zones. The waters off this point were long feared by navigators for shoals, fog, storms, and strong currents, making accurate mapping essential to coastal safety. Nearby Race Point Beach and the surrounding dunes suggest both the beauty and danger of this exposed promontory. The inclusion of Highland Light to the southeast connects the sheet to the broader lighthouse geography of Cape Cod, where beacons helped guide vessels along a treacherous but heavily traveled Atlantic corridor. The map thus reads not only as a topographic document, but as a record of seafaring, vigilance, and coastal adaptation.

As a 1944 USGS production, this map belongs to a distinguished tradition of federal survey work that transformed American geographic knowledge. The U.S. Geological Survey, founded in 1879, created standardized maps that combined scientific rigor with practical public use, charting terrain for engineering, conservation, resource study, military planning, and civic development. In wartime America, accurate coastal maps carried particular importance, especially along exposed Atlantic shores. Today, this Provincetown sheet offers a compelling historical snapshot of P-town and its surrounding natural landscapes before later decades of growth, preservation, and tourism reshaped the region. It preserves the Outer Cape as a finely observed composition of harbor, dune, marsh, road, trail, beach, and open ocean.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Provincetown
• Herring Cove
• Race Point
• Cape Cod Bay
• MacMillan Pier
• Highland Light
• Pilgrim Lake
• Race Point Beach
• Provincetown Harbor
• P-town — nickname for Provincetown
• Various woodlands and marsh areas
• Multiple roads and trails
• Shoreline and coastline along the Atlantic Ocean
• Notable land contour features indicated by contour lines

Historical context & cartographic details

• Map name: Provincetown, Massachusetts
• Produced by the U.S. Geological Survey — USGS
• Published in 1944
• Scale: 1:31,680
• Showcases Provincetown and the surrounding area as surveyed in the mid-20th century
• Provides insight into the region’s geographical and topographical features at the time of publication
• The USGS has been a key agency in mapping the United States, contributing significantly to geological and geographic understanding through extensive survey work
• Uses distinctive color coding to indicate elevation and different land uses
• Employs shades of green and brown to show topography and vegetation
• Depicts coastal areas, marshes, and elevated terrain with clear contour lines
• Offers a historical snapshot of the area before later urban development and landscape changes
• Useful for comparing historical geography with the modern Provincetown landscape

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.