2011 Map of Cando NE

About this map

Mauvais Coulee meanders through this portion of Towner County, North Dakota, defining the low-lying drainage patterns of an otherwise strictly gridded agricultural landscape. The terrain is organized by a systematic network of section-line roads, including north-south corridors like 76th Ave NE and 72nd Ave NE, and east-west routes such as 72nd St NE. This mapping by the U.S. Geological Survey illustrates the intersection of natural hydrology with the precise geometry of the Public Land Survey System in the early twenty-first century. The presence of numerous small prairie potholes and seasonal wetlands, particularly surrounding the coulee, highlights the persistent glacial legacy that continues to influence modern rural road placement and land use in the Red River Valley hinterlands.