“Harrison Mtn.” is a finely detailed US Geological Survey topographical map of the Lake Arrowhead region of Southern California, created from 1953 survey data and published in 1960. At a 1:24,000 scale, it captures the San Bernardino Mountains with the precision and clarity for which the USGS became renowned, translating a rugged recreational landscape into an elegant language of contour lines, roads, trails, watercourses, and survey points. The map preserves Lake Arrowhead and its neighboring communities at a revealing mid-century moment, before later waves of resort expansion, road improvement, and environmental change further reshaped the mountain landscape. It is both a technical document and a historical portrait of one of Southern California’s most beloved alpine retreats.

The visual character of the map is immediately compelling: a vibrant green palette marks forested terrain, while closely spaced contour lines articulate the steep slopes, ridges, basins, and depressions of the San Bernardino high country. Around Lake Arrowhead, the topography gathers into a dramatic pattern of folded hillsides, winding roads, and wooded residential enclaves. The cartographic design balances beauty and function, offering an unusually clear sense of how elevation governs movement through the region. Roads such as North Rim Drive, State Route 18, and State Route 173 thread through the mountains, while dotted lines indicate trails and minor routes, hinting at the area’s enduring appeal to hikers, motorists, surveyors, and vacationers seeking access to the forested interior.

Lake Arrowhead itself anchors the map, accompanied by nearby mountain communities including Blue Jay, Crestline, Running Springs, Pinecrest, and Green Valley Lake. These names evoke the development of the San Bernardino Mountains as a cool, pine-covered escape from the inland valleys and the Los Angeles Basin. Lake Gregory also appears, extending the map’s recreational geography beyond Arrowhead’s immediate shore. In 1953, when the underlying survey was conducted, many of these settlements were already established resort and cabin communities, yet they retained a more dispersed, mountain-village character than they would in later decades. The map therefore offers a valuable snapshot of infrastructure, settlement patterns, and forest access in the postwar era.

The surrounding San Bernardino National Forest gives the map much of its drama and significance. Heaps Peak and Keller Peak rise within the mapped terrain, their elevations and forms rendered through the USGS’s meticulous contour work. Mill Creek and other drainage features reveal the hydrological structure of the mountains, showing how water moves through steep canyons and forested slopes toward lower elevations. The area’s topography is not merely scenic; it is the fundamental framework behind its roads, communities, fire management concerns, and recreational routes. Survey markers scattered across the sheet underscore the scientific discipline behind the composition, placing this picturesque landscape within a precise national mapping system.

Produced by the US Geological Survey, “Harrison Mtn.” belongs to one of America’s most influential cartographic traditions. The USGS quadrangle map became an essential tool for engineers, planners, foresters, geologists, military users, and outdoor travelers, combining standardized symbology with extraordinary local detail. Here, that national project intersects with a distinctly Californian landscape: high-elevation resort lakes, coniferous forest, sinuous mountain highways, and small communities perched among steep ridges. As a historical map, it documents the Lake Arrowhead region before many contemporary developments, offering insight into land use, access routes, and natural terrain in the mid-twentieth century. Its appeal lies in that dual identity: rigorous government survey and evocative mountain portrait.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Lake Arrowhead
• San Bernardino National Forest
• Running Springs
• Blue Jay
• Crestline
• Heaps Peak
• Keller Peak
• North Rim Drive
• Green Valley Lake
• Pinecrest
• Lake Gregory
• Mill Creek
• State Route 18 / Big Bear Blvd
• State Route 173
• Hiking trails and roads indicated by dotted lines
• Survey points and markers throughout the area

Historical context & cartographic details

• Map name: Harrison Mtn.
• Publisher/Mapmaker: Produced by the US Geological Survey / USGS.
• Date of creation: Created using survey data from 1953 and published in 1960.
• Scale: Historical 1:24,000 topographical map.
• Cartographic purpose: USGS topographical maps were widely used for land use planning, outdoor recreation, surveying, and geographic reference.
• Design details: Uses a vibrant color palette, predominantly greens, to represent terrain, vegetation, and elevation changes.
• Topographic character: Contour lines show the hilly and mountainous landscape, including elevation shifts and depressions.
• Historical significance: Reflects mid-20th-century landscape conditions before later urban expansion and environmental changes in the region.

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.