1982 Map of Fairbanks

About this map

Cloquet Valley State Forest and the Superior National Forest define this 1982 map of the St. Louis County backcountry. The landscape is a network of boreal waterways and glacial lakes, notably the elongated Wolf Lake and the broad Bassett Lake, which are linked by several drainage systems including Hornby Creek and Petrel Creek. Human activity is concentrated along the transport corridors, specifically the Duluth Missabe and Iron Range Railroad as it cuts north toward the Iron Range. Small settlements like Fairbanks, Otto, and Brimson appear as quiet clusters of structures in a region otherwise dominated by wetlands and forestry. The presence of a Landing Strip near Cadotte L and numerous Gravel Pits suggests the area's ongoing use for logging access and regional transit during the late 1970s and early 1980s.