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1956 Map of Crab Lake

Name: 1956 Topographic Map of Crab Lake
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1986
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1986

About this map

The Superior National Forest dominates this landscape in the mid-1950s, revealing a complex network of glacial lakes and portage-connected waterways within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Large water bodies like Burntside Lake and Crab Lake are central features, punctuated by numerous islands such as Pine Island, Beach Island, and Snailman Island. The map illustrates the layered management of Minnesota’s north woods, showing where the Burntside State Forest and Bear Island State Forest intersect with federal wilderness lands.

The topography is defined by the hydrologic flow of the Korb River and the isolated character of back-country lakes like Cummings Lake, Tamarack Lake, and Silaca Lake. The absence of roads and permanent settlements throughout much of the northern half emphasizes the primitive character of the wilderness area before later recreational developments. Surveyed boundaries for Morse and Breitung provide the underlying cadastral framework for this densely forested region of the Iron Range corridor.