1981 Map of Beltsville

About this map

The Patuxent River corridor and the Rocky Gorge Reservoir anchor the northern landscape of this orthophotoquad, where suburban expansion meets the Piedmont's water systems. In the early 1980s, the intensifying development between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore is evident in the dense residential clusters of Beltsville and Greenbelt. This unique imagery, prepared from color infrared photographs by the Soil Conservation Service, highlights the contrast between the wooded estates of West Laurel Acres and the major highway interchanges that define the region's commuter identity. Significant institutional and residential footprints are visible across College Park and Adelphi, while the eastern edges of White Oak and Fairland show the rapid conversion of open land into modern suburban infrastructure.