1959 Map of Crocodile Lake

About this map

The Canada-United States border cuts through the northern waters of this wilderness region, following a chain of lakes and historic travel routes. The landscape is defined by the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the Superior National Forest, where a dense network of water bodies like Clearwater Lake and Mountain Lake are connected by traditional paths such as the Watap Portage. To the south, the Pat Bayle State Forest encompasses the drainage of the Crocodile River, which flows out of Crocodile Lake. The southwestern corner is anchored by the historic Gunflint Trail, providing the primary terrestrial access into this watery expanse. This survey, photorevised in the 1980s from late-1950s data, records the intricate bathymetry and topography of a region where the international boundary was defined by the very waterways used for centuries by indigenous people and early traders.