Knoxville
This large-scale topographic map covers the region between Knoxville, TN and Asheville, NC. As an official U.S.G.S., the map makes claims to objectively representing the landscape through topography. The consistency of representation across such a large region makes the map more difficult to read than a small-scale or pictorial map.
Great Smoky Mountain National Park is not depicted in a different color, but is labelled by text. All the cities are made the same fluorescent orange color. Roads are the same color red on both the white and green background.
Despite the consistency of representation across the entire landscape, the choices of the U.S.G.S. mapmakers still indicate a hierarchy of landscape. The "Great Smoky Mountain National Park" text is at least as large as the "Knoxville" toponym and spaced out to cover the large area which highlights the spatial importance of the mountain region. The orange color represents "populated places" according to the key, which would then imply that people only live in this landscape in named cities; the rest is untouched natural wilderness. The red roads contrast more with the white background as opposed to the green, which emphasizes the presence of road in non-forested places and tends to hide them in the green area.
The faith to the scale of the natural features places lakes over rivers in the visual hierarchy. Lakes are blue polygons, rivers are small blue lines winding among the brown contour lines. Nonetheless, the water features of significance, lakes, rivers and ponds, are all represented on the map.
U.S.G.S. (U.S. Geological Survey)
U.S.G.S.
1955
Army Map Service (AMTV), Corps of Engineers
Topographic Map, Scale 1:250,000
Local, Multi-State
Western North Carolina, a Vacationist's Map and Guide
This map produced by the North Carolina State Advertising Division illustrates the recreational opportunities of Western North Carolina. The Great Smoky Mountains and Blue Ridge Mountains form the geographic boundaries of the region; there are no images or opportunities noted beyond the state lines. The image consists of two maps. "The Fun" includes illustrations and labels of local tourist attractions. "The Hiways" is a standard road map of the same region.
Outdoor recreation opportunities are highlighted. The pictorial representation of the mountain ranges defines the map; by naming each mountain, the map makers indicate to the viewer that they are places worth knowing. Waterfalls, hiking trails, and lakes are also found across the map. This includes Fontana Lake, a lake created by a TVA dam.
Amenities are drawn all over the map. Trails, camp spots, small towns, and major roads traverse the entire landscape, making every labelled spot both visually and practically accessible to the traveler. The road map in the bottom right-hand corner to allow the prospective tourist to navigate their way to the attraction.
Notably missing from this map are any rivers and land or features from the surrounding states.
John Sink
David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
North Carolina State Advertising Division
1956 (estimated)
State
Tennessee Valley Area: pictorial map
This pictorial map, produced by the Tennessee Valley Authority, shows the Tennessee River Valley region with particular emphasis on the proposed work and improvements of the TVA. As the map notes, there is "no scale," nor does it include a compass rose. The map has three major parts: the diagram of the proposed dams along the top of the image, the pictorial map of Tennessee, and an inset of Great Smoky Mountain National Park in the bottom right-hand corner. Taken together, all three parts contribute to a particular understanding of the regional geography.
The top diagram shows the location of proposed dams along the Tennessee River with respect to the distance from the mouth and the elevation. This is the product of the Tennessee Valley Authority's work in the region; it's mandate was to provide flood control and generate agricultural and industrial development in the region.
The colors of the map serve to emphasize the area under the TVA's domain, highlighting it in a light green while the rest of the land area is a muted cornflower blue. Mountains, hills, state lines, and cities are depicted in brown; roads are white and toponyms are in black. The rivers and title of the map are dark blue.
The Great Smoky Mountain inset acknowledges the growing importance of recreation and scenic tourism to the region. The National Park was newly established, and the roads linking Knoxville and Asheville, the two cities on either side of the Appalachians in this area highlight the connectivity, which should enable economic growth, of the mountainous landscape.
Library of Congress
U.S. Government Printing Office
1939
Tennessee Valley Authority
Regional; Multi-State