2011 Map of Rat Lake

About this map

Lake Sakakawea dominates the southern reaches of this landscape, its expansive waters meeting the meandering path of the White Earth River as it flows from the northwest. The terrain is defined by the rigid grid of the Public Land Survey System, with gravel and local roads like 57th St NW and 94th Ave NW cutting straight lines across the prairie. The eponymous Rat Lake sits as a smaller, distinct body of water in the southeast, surrounded by numerous small prairie potholes and seasonal wetlands typical of the Missouri Plateau. This 2011 survey captures the area during a period of modern agricultural use and land management, where the intersection of significant water resources and a sparse, organized road network dictates the local geography.