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2010 Map of Downer

Name: 2010 Topographic Map of Downer
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2010
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2010

About this map

The Buffalo River meanders across this Clay County landscape, defining the northern geography near the settlement of Muskoda. This portion of western Minnesota is characterized by a precise grid of rural section roads, including County Hwy 12 and County Hwy 11, which connect the scattered agricultural homesteads. In the southern reaches, the community of Downer sits near the headwaters of Hay Creek, a drainage that winds northward through the prairie.

Water features like Maria Lake provide natural breaks in the systematic township-and-range layout. This 2010 survey reflects a period where traditional rural infrastructure remained largely unchanged, preserving the spatial relationship between the early rail-stop towns and the surrounding farmland. Researchers can trace the exact routes of local roads like 184th St S and 90th Ave S as they relate to the natural riparian corridors.