2012 Map of Spring Lake

About this map

Spring Lake anchors this glacial landscape in Walworth County, stretching across the center of a quadrangle dominated by the section-line grid of the American West. The small settlement of Alamo sits to the northeast, positioned along 319th Ave near the upper reaches of Swan Lake Cr. This 2012 survey by the U.S. Geological Survey illustrates the intersection of modern road infrastructure with the natural hydrology of the Great Plains, where numerous unnamed prairie potholes and depressions dot the fields around the primary drainage of the creek. The strictly rectangular road network, composed of numbered routes like 135th St and 317th Ave, reflects the enduring legacy of the Public Land Survey System as it organizes the rural South Dakota economy.