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2021 Map of Clear Lake

Name: 2021 Topographic Map of Clear Lake
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2021
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2021

About this map

The Sangamon River meanders through a labyrinth of backwaters and seasonal wetlands in this modern Illinois survey. The landscape is defined by its complex hydrologic network, where the Little Sangamon River feeds into an expansive bottomland of named sloughs and lakes, including Crane Lake, Mound Lake, and Clear Lake. This intricate system of islands and bypasses, such as Cuba Island and Knapps Island, reveals the natural rhythm of the river's floodplains before the terrain transitions into the steeper bluffs to the south.

Local family history is rooted in the elevated areas overlooking the bottomlands, evidenced by several small burial grounds. Beard Cem, Wells Cem, and Hager Cem are positioned along the terrace edges and hillsides. The southern portion of the map shows a shift from the aquatic maze of Sangamon Bay and Redhead Lake to a more traditional grid of rural roads like Krohe Ln and N Bluff Springs Rd, tracing the early settlement patterns along the valley wall.