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1971 Map of Rush Lake East

Name: 1971 Topographic Map of Rush Lake East
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1973
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1973

About this map

Rush Lake State Wildlife Management Area anchors this 1971 study of the Iowa prairie, located where the Palo Alto and Pocahontas county line divides the landscape. The map reveals a region defined by its complex hydrology and early drainage efforts, visible in the engineered pathways of Ditch No. 62 and Ditch No. 36. These man-made channels contrast with the meandering courses of the North Branch Lizard Creek and Pilot Creek.

Transportation and community life at this time centered around the Chicago and North Western rail line in the northeast and the Prairie View Ch near the center of the sheet. The terrain is dotted with namesake bodies of water, from Silver Lake in the north to the southern reaches of Swan Lake and Cummins, illustrating the glacial pothole character of the Northwest Iowa plains before further agricultural consolidation.