1977 Map of Moosehead

About this map

Moosehead Lake dominates this late-1970s orthophotoquad, revealing the complex shoreline and islands of Maine’s interior timberlands. This specialized aerial imagery provides a direct look at the wooded landscape at the headwaters of the Kennebec River, where the forest meets the water's edge without the abstraction of traditional contour lines. The map captures the massive profiles of Deer Island and the southern tip of Sugar Island, while the western shore is defined by the steep rise of Big Squaw Mountain. Smaller water bodies like Burnham Pond and Mountain View Pond sit isolated in the dense canopy, connected only by narrow logging tracks or natural drainages. This perspective is particularly valuable for tracing the exact 1977 vegetation patterns and shoreline configurations before decades of subsequent forest growth and shoreline development changed the local character.