{"product_id":"map-of-cottonwood-falls-kansas-by-usgs-1985-emporia-flint-hills-cottonwood-river","title":"Map of Cottonwood Falls, Kansas by USGS, 1985 – Emporia, Flint Hills \u0026 Cottonwood River","description":"\u003cp\u003ePublished in 1990 from original 1985 survey data, “Emporia, Kansas” presents the Flint Hills and Cottonwood River country through the disciplined visual language of the United States Geological Survey. Though titled for Emporia, the map’s geographic richness extends south and west toward Cottonwood Falls, tracing a landscape where prairie uplands, stream valleys, county roads, and settlement patterns meet. At a 1:100,000 scale, it offers a broad yet finely legible portrait of east-central Kansas in the late twentieth century. Subtle color differentiation marks elevation, vegetation, water, and transportation corridors, allowing the viewer to read both the physical landform and the human imprint placed upon it by farms, highways, towns, and surveyed section lines.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe United States Geological Survey brought to this map more than a century of institutional expertise in scientific cartography. Founded in 1879, the USGS became the nation’s authoritative mapper of terrain, water systems, mineral resources, and landforms, producing maps relied upon by engineers, planners, educators, researchers, and travelers. Its topographic sheets are admired not for ornament but for precision: every contour, road, creek, township boundary, and named place forms part of a carefully measured national record. In “Emporia, Kansas,” that tradition is evident in the balanced composition and clear hierarchy of information. The map is both practical and quietly elegant, transforming a working landscape into a comprehensive geographic document.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe terrain shown here belongs to one of Kansas’s most distinctive natural regions: the Flint Hills, a sweeping expanse of tallgrass prairie shaped by limestone, chert, seasonal fire, and grazing. The map’s topographic detail captures the gently rolling but persistent relief that gives the region its character, with uplands descending into the channels of the Cottonwood River and its tributary creeks. Streams and drainageways articulate the land like veins, revealing how water has carved routes through prairie and pasture. Around Cottonwood Falls, the terrain hints at the scenic qualities that have long made Chase County and the surrounding Flint Hills a symbolic heartland of Kansas landscape identity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHuman geography is equally compelling. Emporia appears as a regional anchor, while smaller communities such as Allen, Reading, Neosho Rapids, and Cottonwood Falls give the map its local texture. Lyon County and Morris County are represented through their gridded rural order, where section lines, county roads, and highways impose a geometric framework over older natural systems. This juxtaposition is one of the pleasures of USGS mapping: the rectilinear survey grid lies across curving creeks, rolling hills, and irregular river bottoms. Road networks and settlement clusters reveal patterns of agriculture, commerce, and access, showing how the prairie was organized for movement, ownership, and daily life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs a document of the mid-1980s landscape, the map preserves a moment in the evolving geography of east-central Kansas. Infrastructure, land use, park areas, nature reserves, and recreational corridors such as the Flint Hills Nature Trail can be read against the enduring framework of rivers, ridges, and towns. For collectors, historians, and admirers of the Great Plains, “Emporia, Kansas” offers more than orientation; it is a measured portrait of a region whose apparent openness conceals intricate layers of geology, ecology, settlement, and memory. Its restrained USGS design rewards close looking, inviting the eye to move from broad prairie forms to the smallest named streams and rural roads.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eCities, towns and places on this map\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCottonwood Falls\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEmporia\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAllen\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReading\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNeosho Rapids\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLyon County\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMorris County\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFlinthills\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCottonwood River\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFlint Hills Nature Trail\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVarious section lines and grid systems\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSeveral highways and county roads\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePark areas and nature reserves\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStreams and creeks in the vicinity\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHistorical context \u0026amp; cartographic details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProduced by the United States Geological Survey (USGS)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOriginal survey data from 1985, published in 1990\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReflects the geography and topography of the area from a mid-1980s perspective\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShows how land use and infrastructure may have changed since the time of survey\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUses a 1:100,000 scale\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEmploys standard USGS topographical design with mixed colors for elevation and landscape features\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProvides detailed representation of elevations, waterways, and road networks\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShowcases the varied terrain of the Kansas landscape\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCreated by the USGS, known for accurate and reliable topographic mapping for land management, education, and research\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLooking for a particular place?\u003c\/strong\u003e Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eask our workshop to check before you order\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDetailed 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eget in touch\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe model in the listing images is holding the 36x20in (90x50cm) version of this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhere personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/pages\/map-personalisation\"\u003eSee personalised map examples\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEvery 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith 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 \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/collections\/all-old-vintage-antique-maps\"\u003erare old and vintage maps\u003c\/a\u003e to discover another place, period or style.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Unique Maps Co.","offers":[{"title":"12x18in (30x45cm) \/ Map","offer_id":68127332761991,"sku":null,"price":42.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x18in (30x45cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":68127332794759,"sku":null,"price":115.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x18in (30x45cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":68127332827527,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"14x24in (36x60cm) \/ Map","offer_id":68127332860295,"sku":null,"price":80.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"14x24in (36x60cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":68127332893063,"sku":null,"price":176.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"14x24in (36x60cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":68127332925831,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"20x36in (50x90cm) \/ Map","offer_id":68127332958599,"sku":null,"price":96.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"20x36in (50x90cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":68127332991367,"sku":null,"price":263.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"20x36in (50x90cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":68127333024135,"sku":null,"price":296.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"22x40in (56x100cm) \/ Map","offer_id":68127333056903,"sku":null,"price":126.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"22x40in (56x100cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":68127333089671,"sku":null,"price":362.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"22x40in (56x100cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":68127333122439,"sku":null,"price":362.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"28x50in (70x127cm) \/ Map","offer_id":68127333155207,"sku":null,"price":230.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"28x50in (70x127cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":68127333187975,"sku":null,"price":962.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"28x50in (70x127cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":68127333220743,"sku":null,"price":962.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"33x60in (84x150cm) \/ Map","offer_id":68127333253511,"sku":null,"price":307.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"33x60in (84x150cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":68127333286279,"sku":null,"price":1539.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"33x60in (84x150cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":68127333319047,"sku":null,"price":1429.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"39x70in (99x178cm) \/ Map","offer_id":68127333351815,"sku":null,"price":505.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"39x70in (99x178cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":68127333384583,"sku":null,"price":2062.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"39x70in (99x178cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":68127333417351,"sku":null,"price":1924.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0257\/0344\/8638\/files\/file_c27ba89e-1c55-4fe5-9648-6059aec45ec2.jpg?v=1793900220","url":"https:\/\/uniquemaps.eu\/products\/map-of-cottonwood-falls-kansas-by-usgs-1985-emporia-flint-hills-cottonwood-river","provider":"The Unique Maps Co.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}