Fisk Mississippi River Meander Map 1944 — Framed Print

The story of this map

In 1944 the geologist Harold N. Fisk delivered to the Mississippi River Commission a report on the geology of the lower Mississippi valley, and tucked into it was a set of plates that have since become some of the most loved maps of the twentieth century. They show the river not as it is but as it has been: every former channel the river has wandered through over thousands of years, reconstructed from the soils and drawn in a different colour.

The result looks like abstract art. Ribbons of pink, green, yellow, blue and ochre coil over one another down the length of the valley, with the present river threading through the middle in a single pale band. State lines, towns and the modern levees sit quietly underneath. The closer you look, the more loops you find; the river has been everywhere.

Fisk’s maps were made for engineers trying to understand a river that refuses to stay put, and they were printed by the US Army Corps of Engineers, which is why they remain freely available for reproduction today. This print takes one sheet from the fifteen-sheet series and gives it the wall space it deserves.

We print it as a restored reproduction in our Historic Charts and Themed Maps collection. It suits a modern living room, a studio, or an office, and works as well in a black frame as in oak. Printed to order on archival matte paper and framed in the country of delivery.

Before and after

Left: the archive scan exactly as published. Right: the file that goes to the printer.

Mississippi River Meander Map, 1944: archive scan compared with the restored print

Archive scanRestored

Restoration notes

Restoration plan: the meander belt was issued as a set of fifteen oversized plate sheets; our print reproduces a single sheet, chosen for its colour and the completeness of its channel ribbons. Crop scan margins, balance colour cast and levels while keeping the paper tone, remove library stamps and scanner artefacts if present, gentle sharpening. No repainting of original content.

Every print carries its archive credit on the packing slip. Paper tone and small imperfections of the original are kept on purpose; nothing is redrawn.

Questions

Is this an original antique map?

No. It is a new archival print of a restored high-resolution scan of the 1944 map held by the US Army Corps of Engineers. We never sell originals.

What is printed on it?

One sheet from Fisk's 'Ancient Courses of the Mississippi River Meander Belt'. Each colour is a former channel of the river reconstructed from the geology, layered over the modern course and the state and county lines of the valley.

Is a 1944 map really public domain?

Yes. It was made by the Mississippi River Commission of the US Army Corps of Engineers, a federal agency, and works of the United States government are not protected by copyright. The Corps publishes the plates itself as public information.

Does it come framed?

Yes, if you choose a framed option. Prints are made to order on archival matte paper and framed in a black, white or oak frame in the country of delivery; unframed paper and canvas versions are also available.

Colours vary between screens and paper. The tone you see here is a close match to the archival matte print; framed prints have no glass glare in these previews.

Pairs well with

Hang them together — 10% off the second framed print

Bird's-Eye View of New Orleans, 1885

Currier & Ives · Library of Congress

$129 24×18 in framed · paper from $35

Gulf Coast & Galveston Nautical Chart, 1863

US Coast Survey · Library of Congress

$129 18×24 in framed · paper from $35

The discount is applied automatically at checkout when two or more framed prints are in the cart.

Size	Metric	Best for
12×16 in	30×41 cm	Desk, shelf, small wall, gallery groupings
12×18 in	30×46 cm	Desk, shelf, small wall, gallery groupings
16×20 in	41×51 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
16×24 in	41×61 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
18×24 in	46×61 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
20×30 in	51×76 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
24×30 in	61×76 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
24×32 in	61×81 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
24×36 in	61×91 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
30×40 in	76×102 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
32×48 in	81×122 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office

Mississippi River Meander Map, 1944

Before and after

Restoration notes

Hang them together — 10% off the second framed print