Titled “San Francisco,” this 1:100,000 topographical map was created in 1978 and issued with a 1979 imprint by the United States Geological Survey, capturing the Bay Area at a revealing late-twentieth-century moment. Though named for San Francisco, the sheet gives remarkable prominence to Berkeley and the East Bay, setting the city within its wider geographic theater of water, hills, bridges, highways, and urban expansion. The classic USGS cartographic language is immediately apparent: precise contour lines articulate elevation, while roads, railways, and major infrastructure are crisply delineated, with vibrant red routes threading through the landscape. It is a map of metropolitan complexity, but also of terrain—showing how cities here are shaped by bays, ridgelines, canyons, and shorelines.

The US Geological Survey, long regarded as one of America’s most authoritative mapping institutions, brought scientific rigor and visual clarity to maps such as this. Founded in 1879, the USGS became indispensable to government planning, geology, resource management, and public works, and its topographic sheets remain among the most trusted records of the American landscape. This map reflects that tradition beautifully: not merely naming places, but measuring them, structuring them, and revealing their relationships. The 1:100,000 scale allows both breadth and detail, balancing the drama of the wider Bay Area with practical information about roads, rail corridors, municipal boundaries, shorelines, parks, and elevation. It is cartography as both civic record and geographic portrait.

Berkeley forms one of the map’s most compelling focal points, set against the rising terrain of the East Bay hills and the broad waters of San Francisco Bay. The University of California, Berkeley—founded in 1868 and one of the great academic institutions of the United States—anchors the city’s cultural and intellectual identity. Nearby, Claremont Canyon and Tilden Regional Park reveal the topographic contrast between dense urban neighborhoods and the rugged recreational landscapes that define the East Bay. The contour intervals make the area’s distinctive geography legible, tracing the climb from the shoreline and Berkeley Marina toward higher ground. The map captures Berkeley not as an isolated city, but as a place shaped by education, activism, ecology, and terrain.

Across the bay, San Francisco appears within its defining maritime setting, framed by the Pacific Ocean, San Francisco Bay, and the storied passage of the Golden Gate. The Golden Gate Bridge is part of a larger regional network shown here, linking the peninsula to Marin County and the dramatic rise of Mount Tamalpais. To the south, Daly City and South San Francisco trace the urban corridor down the peninsula; to the east, Oakland, Alameda, Richmond, Hayward, Fremont, and Pleasanton show the breadth of Bay Area development. San Pablo Bay extends the map’s northern reach, while highways such as I-80 and I-580 underscore the mobility and expansion that characterized the region in the 1970s.

As a historical document, this map offers a fascinating snapshot of the Bay Area before decades of further transformation by technology, population growth, environmental policy, and changing land use. The late 1970s were a period of mature postwar infrastructure yet pre-digital urban identity, when freeways, railways, ports, campuses, marinas, and regional parks all coexisted in a rapidly evolving metropolitan landscape. The map’s topographic styling gives equal dignity to the natural and the built: canyons, ridges, wetlands, parks, cities, bridges, and highways are all part of one interconnected system. For collectors, it is a richly informative view of Northern California at a precise historical moment, preserving the geography of a world-famous region with the disciplined elegance of USGS mapping.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Berkeley
• Oakland
• San Francisco
• Daly City
• South San Francisco
• Richmond
• Alameda
• Hayward
• Fremont
• Pleasanton
• Mount Tamalpais
• San Pablo Bay
• San Francisco Bay
• Golden Gate Bridge
• Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve
• Tilden Regional Park
• Berkeley Marina
• University of California, Berkeley
• Various roads and highways, including I-80 and I-580
• Several parks and forests in the vicinity

Historical context & cartographic details

• Historical 1:100,000 topographical map titled San Francisco
• Dated 1978, with a 1979 imprint
• Published by the US Geological Survey (USGS), known for reliable and detailed topographical mapping
• Prominently highlights Berkeley and the surrounding Bay Area landscape
• Uses classic USGS topographic styling, including contour lines to show elevation changes
• Clearly delineates urban infrastructure such as roads and railways, with major routes highlighted in red
• Shows the hilly terrain of Berkeley and the surrounding East Bay through contour intervals
• Provides a late-1970s snapshot of the region’s geography, infrastructure, and land use before later urban and environmental changes

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 24x36in (60x90cm) 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.