1633 map by M. Merian showing the western hemisphere. Zoom in shows the area that now includes north Texas, as well as a portion of the North American coastline of the Gulf of Mexico. Map archived in the University of North Texas Rare Books Room.

1777 map by T. Kitchin showing parts of North America and Mexico. Zoom in shows the area that now includes north Texas, labeled on the map as "Great Space of Land unknown" but does show the TrinidadRiver, now called the Trinity River. The Trinity River system (Elm Fork, East Fork and West Fork) is now extensively influenced by human activities as it flows through Denton, Dallas and Fort Worth, and empties into the Gulf of Mexico.
Map archived in the University of North Texas Rare Books Room.

1836 map by J.H. Young showing "New Texas" (hand colored area) as well as "Indian Territory" to the north. Colors represent different land grants. Zoom in shows the north Texas area, in "Cameron's Grant", in an area labeled "Immense Level Prairies", with the East Fork of the Trinity River labeled as the "Trinidad" River. The Elm Fork is the tributary between the "O" and the "N", while the West Fork is the tributary below the "RO".
Map archived in the University of North Texas Rare Books Room.

1841 map by Day and Haghe entilted a "New Map of Texas, prepared for the Queen". Zoom in shows the north Texas area, and includes the "Cross Timbers" forested area. Here, the "East Fork" of the Trinidad and the "Trinidad" Rivers are identified.
Map archived in the University of North Texas Rare Books Room.

1856 map by M. Morse showing Texas, beginning to take the familiar shape of present day Texas. Zoom in shows the area that now includes north Texas, and labels Dallas in DallasCounty, and Alton in DentonCounty. Today, just about all that is left of Alton is the historic (some say haunted) "OldAltonBridge" south of Denton. It will still be a couple of years before the city of Denton appears on most maps.
Map archived in the University of North Texas Rare Books Room.

1866 map by J.H. Colton showing the eastern half of the Republic of Texas (Texas joined the United States in 1845, seceded in 1861 and re-joined in 1870). Zoom in shows DentonCounty, including the cities of Denton and two towns that no longer exist: Alton and Lexington. The Elm Fork of the Trinity River (no longer labeled as the TrinidadRiver in order to sever ties to Mexico) is also labeled on this map.
Map archived in the University of North Texas Rare Books Room.

1938 road map of Texas by Humble Oil. Zoom in shows the north central Texas region, and the major roads of the day, before the Interstate system, before the "loop highways" that today exist around Denton, Fort Worth and Dallas, and when the only reservoirs in the area were Lake Dallas (now part of the much larger Lake Lewisville), and Eagle Mountain and Lake Worth north of Fort Worth.
1984 Thematic Mapper satellite image on left, versus 2004 Thematic Mapper satellite image on right showing extensive urban sprawl in the Dallas/Fort Worth/Denton metropolitan area. The light blue/grey colors represent urban areas, and these two images show the extensive growth that has occurred in the northern half of the metropolitian area.
University of NorthTexas' Center for Remote Sensing image library.
2004 A Google Maps satellite image showing western half of the University of North Texas campus in Denton. The EnvironmentalScienceBuilding, home of the Center for Remote Sensing, is the large building in the upper right hand corner of the first image. The zoom in shows Fouts Field, where the UNT "Mean Green" Eagles football team plays its home games.
Google Maps imagery.