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1963 Map of Burlington

Name: 1963 Topographic Map of Burlington
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1963
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1963

About this map

The Mississippi River and Illinois River dictate the geography of this mid-century tri-state region, converging toward the southwest where Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri meet. Along the Iowa shore, the industrial footprint of the Iowa Ordnance Plant sits just west of Burlington, while major rail corridors like the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe RR and the Chicago Burlington and Quincy RR bridge the waters to connect river towns such as Fort Madison and Keokuk.

Conservation and education are prominent across the landscape, from the Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge and Sanganois Conservation Area on the Illinois side to the campuses of Western Illinois University in Macomb and Knox College in Galesburg. The map captures a high-water landscape of backwater lakes and islands, including Muscooten Bay and Meredosia Lake, illustrating the complex drainage patterns of the Skunk River, Des Moines River, and Spoon River before the peak of modern floodplain management.