Presented on this page is a collection of symbols used on USGS Topographic Maps printed from the late 1890s (aka old topo maps or superceded topo maps). The styles of the symbols have changed dramatically since this time, and the beginning of their history is illustrated here. We refer to sheets in this style as Generation One or First Generation topographic sheets. These sheets were printed in black, brown, and blue inks and used lines to fill areas such as rivers, lakes and coastal areas.

In the early 1910s, sheets began to appear overprinted with green inks depicting vegetative cover. The timber symbol uses a screen of ink to represent the area, while brush is hatched. At least some of these sheets were printed with and without the green inks.

In the early 1920s, sheets began to appear overprinted with red inks depicting simple road classification. Marginal notations, also in red, were added to show distance and direction along a road to the next town or city.

The symbol table is organized by

• The Symbol column includes a graphic of the symbol, as scanned from a sheet.
• The Description column replicates text from the original map sheets where available.
• The Variants column(s) illustrate alternate versions of a symbol.

Culture
Symbol (printed in black)	Description	Variants
	Roads and Buildings
	Private Roads
	Trails
	Railroads
	Street Railroads
	Tunnels
	Bridges
	Ferries
	Fords
	Dams
	Locks
	Wharves and piers
	U.S. township and section lines
	U.S. section lines
	Located township and section corners
	Township and section corners not located
	County lines
	City or park lines
	Land grant lines
	Triangulation stations
	Bench marks
	Mines and quarries
	Prospects
	Shafts
	Mine tunnels (showing direction)
	Mine tunnels (direction unknown)
	Lighthouses
	Life Saving Stations

Relief
Symbol (printed in brown)	Description	Variants
	Figures (showing heights above sea level instrumentally determined)
	Contours (showing height above sea, horizontal form, and steepness of slope of the surface)
	Depression contours
	Levees
	Cliffs
	Mine dumps

Drainage
Symbol (printed in blue)	Description	Variants
	Streams
	Falls and rapids
	Intermittent streams
	Canals and ditches
	Lakes and ponds
	Intermittent lakes
	Glaciers
	Springs
	Salt marshes
	Fresh marshes
	Tidal flats

Ground Cover
Symbol (printed in greens)	Description	Variants
	Brush
	Timber
	Timber and brush

Early Road Classification
Symbol (printed in red)	Description	Variants
	Through Route
	Secondary Route
	Marginal Notation

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