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My Current Elevation

Iowa maps: printable and free

5 free maps of Iowa: high-resolution PNG (300 dpi) and PDF for US Letter or A4.

PDF = US Letter; A4 for other countries. Tap a map to view it full size. Free for personal, school and commercial use.

Data updated · By Ankit Kumar, compiled from public U.S. government and open datasets · How these numbers are made

1. Iowa blank outline map

The state border only, with a scale bar. Good for labeling, coloring and tracing.

Blank outline map of Iowa with no labels: about 334 miles wide and 216 miles tall, on a letter-size page.View full size
Blank outline map of Iowa with no labels: about 334 miles wide and 216 miles tall, on a letter-size page.
PNG (3,062 × 2,438, 49 KB)PDF, US Letter (16 KB)PDF, A4 (16 KB)

2. Iowa county map

All 99 counties, outlined without names.

Map of Iowa showing the borders of its 99 counties, without names.View full size
Map of Iowa showing the borders of its 99 counties, without names.
PNG (3,062 × 2,438, 86 KB)PDF, US Letter (25 KB)PDF, A4 (25 KB)

3. Iowa labeled county map

The same 99 counties, each named. Names that don't fit inside a small area sit just outside, joined by a short line.

Map of Iowa's 99 counties with each name printed inside its border, including Kossuth County, the largest by land area.View full size
Map of Iowa's 99 counties with each name printed inside its border, including Kossuth County, the largest by land area.
PNG (3,062 × 2,438, 154 KB)PDF, US Letter (33 KB)PDF, A4 (34 KB)

4. Iowa map with major cities

23 cities, chosen by 2024 Census population and spaced so no labels overlap. The capital is marked with a star.

Map of Iowa with 23 major cities marked and labeled, including Des Moines (capital), Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Sioux City.View full size
Map of Iowa with 23 major cities marked and labeled, including Des Moines (capital), Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Sioux City.
PNG (3,062 × 2,438, 136 KB)PDF, US Letter (34 KB)PDF, A4 (34 KB)

5. Iowa elevation map

USGS 3DEP elevation as color plus hillshade. Legend in feet with meters underneath; triangles mark the high and low points, a star the capital.

Shaded-relief elevation map of Iowa, colored from green lowlands to brown and white high ground, marking Hawkeye Point (1,670 ft, highest), the Mississippi River low point (480 ft) and Des Moines, with a legend in feet and meters.View full size
Shaded-relief elevation map of Iowa, colored from green lowlands to brown and white high ground, marking Hawkeye Point (1,670 ft, highest), the Mississippi River low point (480 ft) and Des Moines, with a legend in feet and meters.
PNG (3,062 × 2,438, 2.7 MB)PDF, US Letter (1.1 MB)PDF, A4 (1.0 MB)

Iowa: shape, counties and terrain

Iowa spans about 334 miles from east to west and 216 miles from north to south, with 55,854 square miles of land. Its outline is fairly compact: the state fills 78% of the box drawn around it on the map. The boundary is a single piece of land with no islands.

Iowa has 99 counties. The largest by land area is Kossuth County (973 sq mi) and the smallest is Dickinson County (381 sq mi). The capital, Des Moines, sits at 873 ft downtown (USGS).

Elevation runs from 480 ft (146 m) on the Mississippi River to 1,670 ft (509 m) at Hawkeye Point in Osceola County, a range of 1,190 ft. The sampled average is about 1,071 ft.

On the relief map's elevation grid, under 1% of the state lies below 500 ft, 37% between 500 and 1,000 ft and 59% between 1,000 and 1,500 ft and 3% above 1,500 ft. Split from west to east into thirds, the western third averages 1,280 ft, the central third 1,052 ft and the eastern third 852 ft, so the land is highest in the western third and lowest in the eastern third.

More figures, with sources: Iowa elevation: highest, lowest and average points.

How teachers and students can use these maps

  • Blank map: label Des Moines, the capital, and the largest cities, then check them against the cities map. Older students can draw in rivers or mountain ranges from an atlas.
  • County map: find your own county among the 99. The labeled version works as an answer key; the blank one as a quiz.
  • Cities map: Des Moines to Clinton is about 174 miles in a straight line. Measure it with the scale bar and see how close you get.
  • Elevation map: find Hawkeye Point (1,670 ft) and the Mississippi River (480 ft), and work out the difference: 1,190 ft. Then use the legend to estimate the elevation of your town and check it with our elevation tool.
  • Printing: each map has a US Letter PDF and an A4 PDF. The PDFs are vector files, so lines and labels stay sharp at any size. The outline maps use very little ink in black and white.

License: free to use

These maps are free for personal, school and commercial use. Print them, copy them, change them, and use them in worksheets, slides, books, apps or websites. No permission or fee is needed. A credit is appreciated: Map: MyCurrentElevation.org.

The data behind them (US Census Bureau boundaries and population, USGS elevation) is in the public domain. Inter, the typeface on the maps, is licensed under the SIL Open Font License.

Sources

How each number is produced: methodology and data sources.

Other states and the US map: all printable maps · Iowa elevation

Data updated · By Ankit Kumar, compiled from public U.S. government and open datasets · How these numbers are made

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