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1957 Map of Harrisburg

Name: 1957 Topographic Map of Harrisburg
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1973
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1973

About this map

The Susquehanna River and its tributary, the Juniata River, anchor this landscape of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians during the mid-century. Stretching from State College in the northwest to Lancaster in the southeast, the map documents a region heavily influenced by post-war military infrastructure and long-standing industrial hubs. Major installations like the US Mil Res Indiantown Gap, US Army Depot Letterkenny, and the Mechanicsburg Naval Supply Depot are prominent features of the central valley.

Transport corridors define the movement of goods and people across the ridges, including the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the Penn Central and Reading railroads. Settlement patterns follow the river valleys and the coal-rich gaps of the anthracite region, where towns like Shamokin, Pottsville, and Shenandoah are situated amidst a series of parallel heights including Sharp Mountain and Mahanoy Mountain. Large tracts of protected land, such as Bald Eagle State Forest and Michaux State Forest, occupy the higher elevations between the agricultural valleys.