“Marble Falls quadrangle” is a United States Geological Survey topographic map dated 1967 and issued with a 1971 imprint, capturing a distinctive corner of central Texas at a moment just before major waves of recreational and residential growth reshaped the area. Drawn at the classic USGS 1:24,000 scale, it presents the landscape with scientific clarity: contour lines articulate the rise and fall of the Texas Hill Country, while roads, waterways, buildings, and civic features are rendered with the quiet precision for which the Survey is renowned. The map’s focus on Marble Falls, Horseshoe Bay, Lake Lyndon B. Johnson, and the Colorado River makes it both a geographical record and a compelling portrait of a region in transition.

The terrain shown here is unmistakably Hill Country: rolling elevations, incised waterways, and the broad engineered calm of Lake Lyndon B. Johnson along the Colorado River. The contours reveal a landscape of ridges, slopes, and shallow valleys, conveying the physical drama that has long made this part of Texas attractive for settlement, ranching, travel, and recreation. Horseshoe Bay appears in its geographical setting beside the lake, before becoming widely known as a resort and residential destination. The map’s topographic language allows the viewer to read the land almost three-dimensionally, tracing how roads curve around hills, how drainage lines collect into larger channels, and how human development begins to occupy the more accessible contours.

Marble Falls is presented as the principal urban presence on the sheet, with its roads, buildings, facilities, and local infrastructure carefully distinguished from the surrounding rural and lakeside terrain. Labeled highways and secondary roads show the transportation framework of the late 1960s, linking the town to nearby communities and to the broader region northwest of Austin. The map offers a subtle snapshot of land use before later expansion intensified around the Highland Lakes. Parks, residential areas, and lakeside access points hint at the recreational identity already forming, while the surrounding open spaces preserve the impression of a landscape still defined by ranchlands, natural slopes, and watercourses rather than dense development.

The United States Geological Survey brought to maps like this a distinctive combination of field science, national standardization, and cartographic restraint. Founded in the nineteenth century to study and document the nation’s lands and resources, the USGS became especially admired for its quadrangle maps, which transformed local geography into precise, readable records. In “Marble Falls quadrangle,” that institutional discipline is evident in every contour interval, symbol, road classification, and hydrological detail. Unlike decorative commercial maps, its beauty lies in measured accuracy: the elegant geometry of contour lines, the crisp hierarchy of features, and the balanced integration of natural and built environments. It is a map designed for practical use, yet rich in historical atmosphere.

Today, the map is particularly evocative because Horseshoe Bay and the Lake Lyndon B. Johnson shoreline have since become associated with leisure, second homes, golf, boating, and Hill Country tourism. This 1967 survey preserves the area at an earlier stage, when the relationship between settlement and landscape was still more lightly inscribed. Comparing its roads, shorelines, and developed pockets with the present reveals decades of transformation in central Texas: expanding residential communities, changing recreational infrastructure, and increasing appreciation of the Highland Lakes as a destination. As a historical document, the map captures more than elevations and names; it records the threshold between a quieter regional landscape and the modern identity of Horseshoe Bay and Marble Falls.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Marble Falls
• Horseshoe Bay
• Lake Lyndon B. Johnson
• Colorado River
• Roads, including labeled highways
• Parks and residential areas
• Specific labeled infrastructure, including buildings and facilities within Marble Falls

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the United States Geological Survey (USGS)
• Historical 1:24,000 topographical map dated 1967, with a 1971 imprint
• Shows geographical information and infrastructure from the late 1960s
• Uses contour lines to show elevations, depressions, and changes in terrain
• Depicts the rolling hills and lake areas of central Texas
• Reflects an area that has since seen significant development, especially recreational and residential growth
• Represents the reliable scientific and cartographic style associated with USGS mapping

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.