The SAGE Student Map Contest: $4,000 in Prizes for Young Mapmakers
El Dorado County's SAGE Map Contest invites students to draw their own maps during National Geography Awareness Week, with more than $4,000 in prizes awarded each year.
American River Canyon Alliance
The SAGE Map Contest invites students to draw their own maps and compete for more than $4,000 in prizes each year. The El Dorado & Georgetown Divide Resource Conservation Districts run the contest. It is sponsored by the Surveyors, Architects, Geologists, and Engineers (SAGE) of El Dorado County.
The contest has run for over 25 years. The 2024 edition was the 30th annual event. According to the districts, SAGE has donated over $4,000 in prizes every year for more than two decades.
Timing is fixed to National Geography Awareness Week. The goal is to build geographic awareness and reward the creative talents of local youth.
The professionals do more than fund prizes. SAGE members offer to visit schools and present in person. They explain why cartography matters and what makes a map work. That brings working knowledge of surveying and earth science straight into the classroom.
Want to enter or bring the contest to a school? The districts publish contest details and past results on the SAGE Map Contest page. Teachers and families can also reach the districts directly for rules, categories, and deadlines.
Contact the El Dorado & Georgetown Divide Resource Conservation Districts:
- Phone: (530) 303-5329
- Email: edgdrcd@gmail.com
- Office: 100 Forni Rd, Placerville, CA 95667
We share the American River watershed with El Dorado County. A student who learns to read terrain, water, and boundaries carries that skill for life.
Cover photo: Kurt Minard, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.