Map of Greenwood, Mississippi by USGS, 1982 – Yazoo River & Mississippi Delta

Titled “Greenwood,” this 1982 US Geological Survey quadrangle presents the city of Greenwood, Mississippi, and its surrounding Delta landscape with the precision and restraint characteristic of federal topographic mapping. Created at the detailed 1:24,000 scale, the map captures a moment in the late twentieth century when Greenwood’s urban fabric, transportation routes, waterways, and surrounding land uses were carefully surveyed and translated into cartographic form. The city appears as the central focus, embedded within a broader pattern of roads, railroads, lakes, river corridors, and low-lying terrain. Because the map reflects survey conditions from 1982, it offers a historically valuable record of the area before later changes in infrastructure, suburban expansion, land management, and environmental conditions reshaped portions of the landscape.

The US Geological Survey, long regarded as one of America’s most authoritative mapmaking institutions, brought a scientific discipline to maps such as “Greenwood.” Its quadrangles were designed not merely for orientation, but for reading the land itself: elevation, drainage, settlement, vegetation, transport, and human alteration all rendered in a standardized visual language. Here, contour lines trace the subtle relief of a region better known for broad flatness than dramatic elevation, making even gentle undulations legible. Shading and symbolic land-cover distinctions help separate developed areas, vegetation, water, and open ground. The result is a map of elegant utility, where every road, rail line, stream course, and contour contributes to a layered portrait of place.

Greenwood occupies a historically significant position within Mississippi’s Delta region, and the map’s quiet details suggest the intimate relationship between the city and its surrounding waterways. The Yazoo River is a defining presence, shaping nearby settlement, movement, drainage, and land use. Around it, the terrain is shown as low and subdued, with contour intervals revealing the minute changes in elevation that matter greatly in alluvial country. Lakes and water features punctuate the sheet, adding to the impression of a landscape governed by river systems and seasonal hydrology. The cartography makes visible how Greenwood’s built environment sits within a broader natural framework, where river corridors, floodplain characteristics, and agricultural lands have long influenced development patterns.

The transportation network shown on the map gives Greenwood its sense of connection and commercial movement. Roads radiate through populated districts and across the surrounding countryside, while railroads mark the older industrial and logistical skeleton of the city. These lines are more than practical symbols: they evoke Greenwood’s role as a regional hub within a landscape of farms, waterways, and small communities. The populated areas are delineated with the crisp geometry typical of USGS mapping, allowing the viewer to distinguish neighborhoods, developed corridors, and open land. In combination with the topographic information, these features show how settlement followed accessible ground, river proximity, and transport routes, revealing the practical geography beneath the city’s growth.

As a historical topographic document, “Greenwood” is especially compelling because it records a landscape at a specific point in time. The 1982 survey captures the configuration of streets, rail lines, water bodies, vegetation, and land-use patterns as they existed before subsequent decades of change. In a region where flood control, agricultural practices, urban development, and environmental shifts can substantially alter the appearance and function of land, such a map becomes a finely detailed archive. Its restrained palette and standardized symbols invite close study, rewarding the viewer with discoveries in every quadrant. Both scientific instrument and historical artifact, this map preserves Greenwood as a measured, mapped, and meaningfully situated place in the Mississippi Delta.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Greenwood, Mississippi
• Yazoo River
• Lakes
• Various roads and railroads
• Populated areas within Greenwood
• Surveyed land features, including elevations shown by contour lines
• Land uses represented through shaded areas indicating vegetation or land cover

Historical context & cartographic details

• Published by the US Geological Survey (USGS)
• Historical 1:24,000 topographical map of Greenwood, Mississippi and the surrounding area
• Produced using survey data from 1982
• Uses traditional topographical features, including contour lines and shading, to represent elevation changes and relief
• Shows the flat regions and gentle undulations of the terrain, particularly around rivers
• Reflects the landscape as it was in 1982, before later changes in infrastructure, urban development, and environmental conditions
• The USGS is known for detailed cartographic work contributing to the understanding of United States geography

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.

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The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.

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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.