2016 Map of Chad Lake

About this map

Superior National Forest encompasses the vast majority of this 2016 terrain, defining a landscape dominated by an intricate network of waterways and portage trails. The map highlights the primitive infrastructure of the Boundary Waters region, where named routes like Pine Creek-Chad and Glenmore-Western suggest the historical movement of people between isolated bodies of water. The northern reaches are drained by the Little Indian Sioux River, while the southern portion transitions toward the expansive waters of Vermilion Lake at Rice Bay. The presence of Indian Point on the southern shoreline serves as one of the few named land-based landmarks in a territory otherwise defined by its glaciated basins, including Chad Lake, Cummings Lake, and Buckshot Lake. This survey illustrates the persistent wilderness character of the Iron Range's northern periphery, where modern roads like Co Road 408 barely penetrate the dense lake country.