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1951 Map of Virginia

Name: 1951 Topographic Map of Virginia
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1952
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1952

About this map

Missabe Mountain dominates the landscape of this 1951 survey, illustrating the intensive industrial footprint of the Mesabi Range at mid-century. The city of Virginia is surrounded by a massive network of open-pit operations, including the Wacootah Mine, Alpena Mine, and Sidney Mine. The industrial infrastructure is clearly defined, with Mine Dumps and Tailings Ponds reshaping the topography alongside the tracks of the Duluth Missabe and Iron Range railroad.

Residential life is clustered in settlements like Mountain Iron, Parkville, and Franklin. The map documents civic and educational hubs such as Horace Mann Sch, Washington Sch, and the Greenwood Cemetery. Beyond the excavations, the northern reaches transition into the Superior National Forest, where Sandy Lake and Little Sandy Lake sit above the Laurentian Divide, which splits the drainage of the continent.