These are the counties in Minnesota that currently have a Story Map. Click on the county you wish to view and select the link to go to the story.

This layer is a component of Natural resources interactive map.

This dataset represents the county boundaries, as recognized by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. There are 87 counties in Minnesota.

Map Catalog is powered by the Memento Server software and provides a continuous view across multiple geospatial PDFs. The PDF maps currently available are 1K USNG (topo and aerial) maps from four metro counties(Anoka, Carver, Dakota and Ramsey), 1K USNG Topo of cities and state parks in Minnesota, 10K USNG Aerial maps for Minnesota, US Topo for the metro and Dakota County Park maps, City Street maps and Half Section maps. Map update frequency varies.

This map of Minnesota cities, townships, and counties was published by MnGeo in January 2019. The primary data set for the map is the "Cities, Townships, and Unorganized Territories" (MnCTU) data maintained by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Other reference data on the map include County Seats and Other Cities, County Boundaries, Interstate, US Trunk, and State Trunk Highways, Major Rivers, Lakes, County and State Boundaries. The download is a PDF file with embedded layers that can be printed at E-scale (36" x 48").

The 2022 cartographic boundary KMLs are simplified representations of selected geographic areas from the U.S. Census Bureau's Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) Database (MTDB). These boundary files are specifically designed for small-scale thematic mapping. When possible, generalization is performed with the intent to maintain the hierarchical relationships among geographies and to maintain the alignment of geographies within a file set for a given year. Geographic areas may not align with the same areas from another year. Some geographies are available as nation-based files while others are available only as state-based files. The cartographic boundary files include both incorporated places (legal entities) and census designated places or CDPs (statistical entities). An incorporated place is established to provide governmental functions for a concentration of people as opposed to a minor civil division (MCD), which generally is created to provide services or administer an area without regard, necessarily, to population. Places always nest within a state, but may extend across county and county subdivision boundaries. An incorporated place usually is a city, town, village, or borough, but can have other legal descriptions. CDPs are delineated for the decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places. CDPs are delineated to provide data for settled concentrations of population that are identifiable by name, but are not legally incorporated under the laws of the state in which they are located. The boundaries for CDPs often are defined in partnership with state, local, and/or tribal officials and usually coincide with visible features or the boundary of an adjacent incorporated place or another legal entity. CDP boundaries often change from one decennial census to the next with changes in the settlement pattern and development; a CDP with the same name as in an earlier census does not necessarily have the same boundary. The only population/housing size requirement for CDPs is that they must contain some housing and population. The generalized boundaries of most incorporated places in this file are based on those as of January 1, 2022, as reported through the Census Bureau's Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS). The generalized boundaries of all CDPs are based on those delineated as part of the Census Bureau's Participant Statistical Areas Program (PSAP) for the 2020 Census.

Compilation of 100,000 scale bedrock maps from MGS County Atlas products beginning with C-08, Fillmore County and ending with the newest Atlas, the Bedrock Geology of Lake County Minnesota for a total of 45 100k maps. Because the maps have been created by different authors over a significant time period, the edges of each map do not always align with adjacent maps and for this project no attempt was made to harmonize them. In addition, the map units may also have been change or updated between products separated by several years. However, in this compilation a single attribute table has been developed that includes all of the map labels as well as descriptive text and other fields that allow interpretations to be made between maps. Many of the map units are also part of the 2011 bedrock geologic map of Minnesota which provides another method of interpretation and description. In addition, the source field identifies which Atlas the polygons were originally part of and which will have additional information available about the units. This map is the foundation of a database of 100,000 bedrock mapping in Minnesota that is intended to be updated as new County Atlas mapping is completed and as time permits to be used to develop a common index of bedrock geologic units in Minnesota.

Compilation of 100,000 scale bedrock maps from MGS County Atlas products beginning with C-08, Fillmore County and ending with the newest Atlas, the Bedrock Geology of Lake County Minnesota for a total of 45 100k maps. Because the maps have been created by different authors over a significant time period, the edges of each map do not always align with adjacent maps and for this project no attempt was made to harmonize them. In addition, the map units may also have been change or updated between products separated by several years. However, in this compilation a single attribute table has been developed that includes all of the map labels as well as descriptive text and other fields that allow interpretations to be made between maps. Many of the map units are also part of the 2011 bedrock geologic map of Minnesota which provides another method of interpretation and description. In addition, the source field identifies which Atlas the polygons were originally part of and which will have additional information available about the units. This map is the foundation of a database of 100,000 bedrock mapping in Minnesota that is intended to be updated as new County Atlas mapping is completed and as time permits to be used to develop a common index of bedrock geologic units in Minnesota.

This map portrays our current geologic understanding of the temporal and geographic distribution of units within major Precambrian terranes and of the Phanerozoic strata. The state wide data is mapped at a scale of 1:500,000 and the county bedrock datasets (Becker, Brown, Meeker, Isanti, Cass) are mapped at a 1:100,000 scale. A Story Map displaying this data can be found at Minnesota's Bedrock Geology story map.The western part of the mapped Precambrian terrane in the state wide dataset is inferred largely from geophysical maps, anchored locally by drilling. In many places, contacts are drawn between units of the same or similar apparent rock type (and same unit label); these are recognized as geometrically distinct, though geophysically or lithologically similar. Digital files for the state wide bedrock (http://hdl.handle.net/11299/101466) corresponding to this map allow removal of Cretaceous, Paleozoic, and some parts of Mesoproterozoic strata to reveal an interpretation of the underlying Precambrian bedrock.

For additional state wide data see: (http://hdl.handle.net/11299/98043) which contains files associated with Bedrock Topography, Depth to Bedrock, and locations of Outcrop and Geochronologic analyses. Individual county bedrock can be found and downloaded at the University of Minnesota's Digital Conservancy.

This map shows the free and open data status of county public geospatial (GIS) data across Minnesota. The accompanying data set can be used to make similar maps using GIS software.

Counties shown in this dataset as having free and open public geospatial data (with or without a policy) are: Aitkin, Anoka, Becker, Beltrami, Benton, Big Stone, Carlton, Carver, Cass, Chippewa, Chisago, Clay, Clearwater, Cook, Crow Wing, Dakota, Douglas, Grant, Hennepin, Hubbard, Isanti, Itasca, Kittson, Koochiching, Lake, Marshall, McLeod, Meeker, Mille Lacs, Mower, Norman, Olmsted, Otter Tail, Polk, Pope, Ramsey, Renville, Rice, Scott, Sherburne, Stearns, Steele, St. Louis, Traverse, Waseca, Washington, Wilkin, Wright and Yellow Medicine.

To see if a county's data is distributed via the Minnesota Geospatial Commons, check the Commons organizations page: https://gisdata.mn.gov/organization

To see if a county distributes data via its website, check the link(s) on the Minnesota County GIS Contacts webpage: https://www.mngeo.state.mn.us/county_contacts.html

This resource is a member of a series. The TIGER/Line shapefiles and related database files (.dbf) are an extract of selected geographic and cartographic information from the U.S. Census Bureau's Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) Database (MTDB). The MTDB represents a seamless national file with no overlaps or gaps between parts, however, each TIGER/Line shapefile is designed to stand alone as an independent data set, or they can be combined to cover the entire nation. Census tracts are small, relatively permanent statistical subdivisions of a county or equivalent entity, and were defined by local participants as part of the 2020 Census Participant Statistical Areas Program. The Census Bureau delineated the census tracts in situations where no local participant existed or where all the potential participants declined to participate. The primary purpose of census tracts is to provide a stable set of geographic units for the presentation of census data and comparison back to previous decennial censuses. Census tracts generally have a population size between 1,200 and 8,000 people, with an optimum size of 4,000 people. When first delineated, census tracts were designed to be homogeneous with respect to population characteristics, economic status, and living conditions. The spatial size of census tracts varies widely depending on the density of settlement. Physical changes in street patterns caused by highway construction, new development, and so forth, may require boundary revisions. In addition, census tracts occasionally are split due to population growth, or combined as a result of substantial population decline. Census tract boundaries generally follow visible and identifiable features. They may follow legal boundaries such as minor civil division (MCD) or incorporated place boundaries in some States and situations to allow for census tract-to-governmental unit relationships where the governmental boundaries tend to remain unchanged between censuses. State and county boundaries always are census tract boundaries in the standard census geographic hierarchy. In a few rare instances, a census tract may consist of noncontiguous areas. These noncontiguous areas may occur where the census tracts are coextensive with all or parts of legal entities that are themselves noncontiguous. For the 2010 Census, the census tract code range of 9400 through 9499 was enforced for census tracts that include a majority American Indian population according to Census 2000 data and/or their area was primarily covered by federally recognized American Indian reservations and/or off-reservation trust lands; the code range 9800 through 9899 was enforced for those census tracts that contained little or no population and represented a relatively large special land use area such as a National Park, military installation, or a business/industrial park; and the code range 9900 through 9998 was enforced for those census tracts that contained only water area, no land area.

FEMA Framework Basemap datasets comprise six of the seven FGDC themes of geospatial data that are used by most GIS applications (Note: the seventh framework theme, orthographic imagery, is packaged in a separate NFIP Metadata Profile): cadastral, geodetic control, governmental unit, transportation, general structures, hydrography (water areas & lines. These data include an encoding of the geographic extent of the features and a minimal number of attributes needed to identify and describe the features. (Source: Circular A16, p. 13) This data set contains 3-band natural color imagery from the National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP). NAIP acquires digital ortho imagery during the agricultural growing seasons in the continental U.S. A primary goal of the NAIP program is to enable availability of ortho imagery within one year of acquisition. The source files are 1 meter ground sample distance (GSD) ortho imagery rectified to a horizontal accuracy of within +/- 5 meters of reference digital ortho quarter quads (DOQQ's) from the National Digital Ortho Program (NDOP) or from NAIP. The tiling format of NAIP imagery is based on a 3.75' x 3.75' quarter quadrangle with a 300 meter buffer on all four sides. NAIP imagery is formatted to the UTM coordinate system using NAD83. NAIP imagery may contain as much as 10% cloud cover per tile. This file was generated by compressing NAIP imagery that cover the county extent. MrSID compression was used. Target values for the compression ratio are (15:1). (Note: The Minnesota Geospatial Information Office (MnGeo) has created this metadata record to describe the entire NAIP2009 dataset, using information from Farm Service Agency metadata. Each county file is accompanied by the original FSA metadata for that county.)

The Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) Database depicts flood risk information and supporting data used to develop the risk data. The primary risk classifications used are the 1-percent-annual-chance flood event, the 0.2-percent-annual-chance flood event, and areas of minimal flood risk. The FIRM Database is derived from Flood Insurance Studies (FISs), previously published FIRMs, flood hazard analyses performed in support of the FISs and FIRMs, and new mapping data, where available. The FISs and FIRMs are published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This file is georeferenced to the Earth's surface using the Geographic Coordinate System (GCS) and North American Datum of 1983 (NSRS-2007).

The TIGER/Line shapefiles and related database files (.dbf) are an extract of selected geographic and cartographic information from the U.S. Census Bureau's Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) Database (MTDB). The MTDB represents a seamless national file with no overlaps or gaps between parts, however, each TIGER/Line shapefile is designed to stand alone as an independent data set, or they can be combined to cover the entire nation. The TIGER/Line shapefiles include both incorporated places (legal entities) and census designated places or CDPs (statistical entities). An incorporated place is established to provide governmental functions for a concentration of people as opposed to a minor civil division (MCD), which generally is created to provide services or administer an area without regard, necessarily, to population. Places always nest within a state, but may extend across county and county subdivision boundaries. An incorporated place usually is a city, town, village, or borough, but can have other legal descriptions. CDPs are delineated for the decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places. CDPs are delineated to provide data for settled concentrations of population that are identifiable by name, but are not legally incorporated under the laws of the state in which they are located. The boundaries for CDPs often are defined in partnership with state, local, and/or tribal officials and usually coincide with visible features or the boundary of an adjacent incorporated place or another legal entity. CDP boundaries often change from one decennial census to the next with changes in the settlement pattern and development; a CDP with the same name as in an earlier census does not necessarily have the same boundary. The only population/housing size requirement for CDPs is that they must contain some housing and population. The boundaries of most incorporated places in this shapefile are as of January 1, 2022, as reported through the Census Bureau's Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS). The boundaries of all CDPs were delineated as part of the Census Bureau's Participant Statistical Areas Program (PSAP) for the 2020 Census, but some CDPs were added or updated through the 2022 BAS as well.

This layer is a component of Natural resources interactive map.

A dataset listing Minnesota counties by population for 2024.

This set of GeoTIFF and EPPL7 files represents the Minnesota Department of Transportation's County Highway Map Series in georeferenced image formats. These images of the standard Mn/DOT County Highway Map product can be used in GIS systems and overlayed with other GIS information. The origin of this data is Mn/DOT's Microstation CAD system, where all linework, feature type coding, and symbolization is stored and updated. To produce these data sets, Mn/DOT exported the data from Microstation into postscript files. LMIC then imported the data into GIS systems for georeferencing and further processing. The GeoTIFF data are distributed in both County Highway Map map sheet and full county extents; EPPL7 data sets are distributed only as full county files. Map collars have been removed. This data set represents the Mn/DOT County Highway Map as of January 1, 2002.

description: The Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) Database depicts flood risk Information And supporting data used to develop the risk data. The primary risk; classificatons used are the 1-percent-annual-chance flood event, the 0.2-percent- annual-chance flood event, and areas of minimal flood risk. The DFIRM Database is derived from Flood Insurance Studies (FISs), previously published Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), flood hazard analyses performed in support of the FISs and FIRMs, and new mapping data, where available. The FISs and FIRMs are published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The file is georeferenced to earth's surface using the UTM projection and coordinate system. The specifications for the horizontal control of DFIRM data files are consistent with those required for mapping at a scale of 1:12,000.; abstract: The Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) Database depicts flood risk Information And supporting data used to develop the risk data. The primary risk; classificatons used are the 1-percent-annual-chance flood event, the 0.2-percent- annual-chance flood event, and areas of minimal flood risk. The DFIRM Database is derived from Flood Insurance Studies (FISs), previously published Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), flood hazard analyses performed in support of the FISs and FIRMs, and new mapping data, where available. The FISs and FIRMs are published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The file is georeferenced to earth's surface using the UTM projection and coordinate system. The specifications for the horizontal control of DFIRM data files are consistent with those required for mapping at a scale of 1:12,000.

Minnesota's original public land survey plat maps were created between 1848 and 1907 during the first government land survey of the state by the U.S. Surveyor General's Office. This collection of more than 3,600 maps includes later General Land Office (GLO) and Bureau of Land Management maps up through 2001. Scanned images of the maps are available in several digital formats and most have been georeferenced.

The survey plat maps, and the accompanying survey field notes, serve as the fundamental legal records for real estate in Minnesota; all property titles and descriptions stem from them. They also are an essential resource for surveyors and provide a record of the state's physical geography prior to European settlement. Finally, they testify to many years of hard work by the surveying community, often under very challenging conditions.

The deteriorating physical condition of the older maps (drawn on paper, linen, and other similar materials) and the need to provide wider public access to the maps, made handling the original records increasingly impractical. To meet this challenge, the Office of the Secretary of State (SOS), the State Archives of the Minnesota Historical Society (MHS), the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), MnGeo and the Minnesota Association of County Surveyors collaborated in a digitization project which produced high quality (800 dpi), 24-bit color images of the maps in standard TIFF, JPEG and PDF formats - nearly 1.5 terabytes of data. Funding was provided by MnDOT.

In 2010-11, most of the JPEG plat map images were georeferenced. The intent was to locate the plat images to coincide with statewide geographic data without appreciably altering (warping) the image. This increases the value of the images in mapping software where they can be used as a background layer.

NCED is currently involved in researching the effectiveness of anaglyph maps in the classroom and are working with educators and scientists to interpret various Earth-surface processes. Based on the findings of the research, various activities and interpretive information will be developed and available for educators to use in their classrooms. Keep checking back with this website because activities and maps are always being updated. We believe that anaglyph maps are an important tool in helping students see the world and are working to further develop materials and activities to support educators in their use of the maps.

This website has various 3-D maps and supporting materials that are available for download. Maps can be printed, viewed on computer monitors, or projected on to screens for larger audiences. Keep an eye on our website for more maps, activities and new information. Let us know how you use anaglyph maps in your classroom. Email any ideas or activities you have to ncedmaps@umn.edu

Anaglyph paper maps are a cost effective offshoot of the GeoWall Project. Geowall is a high end visualization tool developed for use in the University of Minnesota's Geology and Geophysics Department. Because of its effectiveness it has been expanded to 300 institutions across the United States. GeoWall projects 3-D images and allows students to see 3-D representations but is limited because of the technology. Paper maps are a cost effective solution that allows anaglyph technology to be used in classroom and field-based applications.

Maps are best when viewed with RED/CYAN anaglyph glasses!

A note on downloading: "viewable" maps are .jpg files; "high-quality downloads" are .tif files. While it is possible to view the latter in a web-browser in most cases, the download may be slow. As an alternative, try right-clicking on the link to the high-quality download and choosing "save" from the pop-up menu that results. Save the file to your own machine, then try opening the saved copy. This may be faster than clicking directly on the link to open it in the browser.

World Map: 3-D map that highlights oceanic bathymetry and plate boundaries.

Continental United States: 3-D grayscale map of the Lower 48.

Western United States: 3-D grayscale map of the Western United States with state boundaries.

Regional Map: 3-D greyscale map stretching from Hudson Bay to the Central Great Plains. This map includes the Western Great Lakes and the Canadian Shield.

Minnesota Map: 3-D greyscale map of Minnesota with county and state boundaries.

Twin Cities: 3-D map extending beyond Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Twin Cities Confluence Map: 3-D map highlighting the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers. This map includes most of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Minneapolis, MN: 3-D topographical map of South Minneapolis.

Bassets Creek, Minneapolis: 3-D topographical map of the Bassets Creek watershed.

North Minneapolis: 3-D topographical map highlighting North Minneapolis and the Mississippi River.

St. Paul, MN: 3-D topographical map of St. Paul.

Western Suburbs, Twin Cities: 3-D topographical map of St. Louis Park, Hopkins and Minnetonka area.

Minnesota River Valley Suburbs, Twin Cities: 3-D topographical map of Bloomington, Eden Prairie and Edina area.

Southern Suburbs, Twin Cities: 3-D topographical map of Burnsville, Lakeville and Prior Lake area.

Southeast Suburbs, Twin Cities: 3-D topographical map of South St. Paul, Mendota Heights, Apple Valley and Eagan area.

Northeast Suburbs, Twin Cities: 3-D topographical map of White Bear Lake, Maplewood and Roseville area.

Northwest Suburbs, Mississippi River, Twin Cities: 3-D topographical map of North Minneapolis, Brooklyn Center and Maple Grove area.

Blaine, MN: 3-D map of Blaine and the Mississippi River.

White Bear Lake, MN: 3-D topographical map of White Bear Lake and the surrounding area.

Maple Grove, MN: 3-D topographical mmap of the NW suburbs of the Twin Cities.