1967 Map of Kettle Falls

About this map

The Canada-United States border cuts through the center of this intricate water-and-land survey, tracing a liquid boundary through Rainy Lake. The settlement of Kettle Falls serves as a lonely landmark at the portage between the great lakes of the north woods, situated precisely where the Ontario-Minnesota line meets the drainage of Namakan Lake. The terrain is dominated by the dense woodlands of the Kabetogama State Forest, which is carved into a maze of peninsulas and islands by Mica Bay and Anderson Bay. This mapping effort combined American photogrammetric data with Canadian advance prints to detail a complex shoreline where features like Friendly Passage and Cormorant Bay define the difficult navigation of the era. The presence of numerous named points and islands, such as Surveyors Island and Blackpoint Island, highlights the importance of precise landmarks for boundary maintenance and local water travel.