{"product_id":"map-of-alexandria-minnesota-by-usgs-1986-lake-minnewaska-lake-carlos-lake-l-homme-dieu","title":"Map of Alexandria, Minnesota by USGS, 1986 – Lake Minnewaska, Lake Carlos \u0026 Lake L’Homme Dieu","description":"\u003cp\u003ePublished in 1986 by the United States Geological Survey, “Lake Minnewaska” presents a carefully measured portrait of west-central Minnesota at a moment when its lakeside towns, roads, railways, and recreation landscapes were already central to the region’s identity. Although named for Lake Minnewaska, the map extends its attention across the Alexandria area and neighboring communities, including Glenwood, Osakis, Long Prairie, Cyrus, Lowry, Kensington, and Leaf Valley. Its planimetric style emphasizes horizontal relationships rather than elevation, making the arrangement of water, settlement, transportation, and land use especially legible. In place of contour lines, the viewer encounters a clean, practical geography: blue lakes and ponds, green vegetation, crisply labeled roads, and the ordered grid of a region shaped by both glacial nature and human movement.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe US Geological Survey’s authorship gives the map a particular authority. Founded in 1879, the USGS became one of America’s essential scientific agencies, charged with mapping the nation’s terrain, resources, waters, and built environments with dependable precision. By the late twentieth century, its maps were not merely navigational aids but records of land use, infrastructure, and environmental character. This 1986 map belongs to that mature tradition: exacting, restrained, and designed for clarity. The labeling of State Highways, County Roads, rail corridors, parks, and settlements reflects the USGS commitment to making the American landscape intelligible at multiple scales. Its visual language is utilitarian, yet elegant in its discipline, translating a complex lake country into a balanced composition of lines, colors, and names.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlexandria anchors much of the map’s historical interest. Long known as a gateway to Minnesota’s celebrated lake country, the city developed around a mixture of agriculture, transportation, tourism, and outdoor recreation. Nearby waters such as Lake Carlos, Lake Darling, Lake Geneva, and Lake L’Homme Dieu help explain the area’s enduring appeal: resorts, cabins, parks, boat landings, and seasonal communities have long clustered around their shores. The map captures this recreational geography in a period when road access and lakeside development were reshaping the region’s economy and landscape. Alexandria’s civic identity—closely tied to fishing, boating, camping, and summer tourism—can be read here through the proximity of roads, green spaces, and water bodies that define its surroundings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLake Minnewaska itself, near Glenwood, is one of the great features of the sheet, part of a broader landscape formed by the retreating glaciers that left central Minnesota rich with basins, wetlands, and rolling ground. The map’s blue hydrography is especially evocative: named lakes sit among many smaller ponds and unnamed waters, suggesting a terrain where water is not incidental but fundamental. Parks and recreation areas appear as green accents around these lakes, indicating how natural features became public amenities and destinations. The inclusion of surrounding towns such as Lowry, Cyrus, Kensington, and Leaf Valley adds a rural counterpoint, showing a countryside of roads, railways, fields, wooded tracts, and small settlements bound together by the lake system.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs a historical document, the map records the Alexandria and Lake Minnewaska region as it stood in 1986, before subsequent decades of suburban growth, highway improvement, lakeshore redevelopment, and changing environmental priorities altered parts of the scene. Its planimetric presentation makes those patterns especially useful to observe: the viewer can trace transportation corridors, settlement edges, recreational zones, and the distribution of natural spaces without the visual complexity of topographic contours. Railways and highways reveal the older and newer frameworks of regional movement, while the lakes suggest why the area has remained magnetically attractive. The result is a polished governmental map with quiet beauty—an exacting snapshot of Minnesota lake country, poised between scientific record and cultural memory.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eCities, towns and places on this map\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlexandria\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGlenwood\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOsakis\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLong Prairie\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCyrus\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLowry\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKensington\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLeaf Valley\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLake L'Homme Dieu\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLake Minnewaska\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLake Carlos\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLake Darling\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLake Geneva\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVarious unnamed lakes and ponds\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNumerous roads and highways, including State Highways and County Roads\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRailways\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eParks and recreation areas, notably near lakes\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVarious forests and green spaces\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLandforms such as hills and valleys\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNotable routes or trails in the area\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHistorical context \u0026amp; cartographic details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProduced by the US Geological Survey, this historical map shows Alexandria, Minnesota and the surrounding area.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMade in 1986, bearing the same imprint.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePublished by the US Geological Survey (USGS), a key scientific agency providing earth science information.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe map focuses on Alexandria, Minnesota, and includes surrounding lakes and landscape features.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlexandria is known for its lakes, parks, and outdoor recreation, which contribute to its tourism and community identity.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe map uses a clear grid layout, blue shading for water bodies, green for vegetation, and precise labeling of roads and other features.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThis is a planimetric map, focusing on horizontal measurements and lacking elevation contours.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe map reflects land use and the physical environment of Alexandria and its surroundings as of 1986.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLater changes in the area may include urban expansion, new infrastructure, and shifts in natural landscapes.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLooking for a particular place?\u003c\/strong\u003e Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/es\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eask our workshop to check before you order\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDetailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please \u003ca href=\"\/es\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eget in touch\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe model in the listing images is holding the 36x24in (90x60cm) version of this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhere personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/es\/pages\/map-personalisation\"\u003eSee personalised map examples\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEvery piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/es\/collections\/all-old-vintage-antique-maps\"\u003erare old and vintage maps\u003c\/a\u003e to discover another place, period or style.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Unique Maps Co.","offers":[{"title":"12x18in (30x45cm) \/ Map","offer_id":68126205575559,"sku":null,"price":355.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x18in (30x45cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":68126205608327,"sku":null,"price":956.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x18in (30x45cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":68126205641095,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"14x24in (36x60cm) \/ Map","offer_id":68126205673863,"sku":null,"price":665.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"14x24in (36x60cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":68126205706631,"sku":null,"price":1456.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"14x24in (36x60cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":68126205739399,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"24x36in (60x90cm) \/ Map","offer_id":68126205772167,"sku":null,"price":801.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"24x36in (60x90cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":68126205804935,"sku":null,"price":2184.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"24x36in (60x90cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":68126205837703,"sku":null,"price":2457.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"28x45in (70x114cm) \/ Map","offer_id":68126205870471,"sku":null,"price":1047.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"28x45in (70x114cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":68126205903239,"sku":null,"price":4277.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"28x45in (70x114cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":68126205936007,"sku":null,"price":4277.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"31x50in (79x127cm) \/ Map","offer_id":68126205968775,"sku":null,"price":1911.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"31x50in (79x127cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":68126206001543,"sku":null,"price":7963.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"31x50in (79x127cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":68126206034311,"sku":null,"price":6871.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"33x60in (84x150cm) \/ Map","offer_id":68126206067079,"sku":null,"price":2548.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"33x60in (84x150cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":68126206099847,"sku":null,"price":12740.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"33x60in (84x150cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":68126206132615,"sku":null,"price":11830.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"44x70in (112x178cm) \/ Map","offer_id":68126206165383,"sku":null,"price":4186.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"44x70in (112x178cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":68126206198151,"sku":null,"price":17062.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"44x70in (112x178cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":68126206230919,"sku":null,"price":15925.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0257\/0344\/8638\/files\/file_c6896cf8-77ab-49f7-be44-3d97daed6e2f.jpg?v=1793872986","url":"https:\/\/uniquemaps.co\/es\/products\/map-of-alexandria-minnesota-by-usgs-1986-lake-minnewaska-lake-carlos-lake-l-homme-dieu","provider":"The Unique Maps Co.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}