Maps and More

There are a lot of great resources for maps and related information about Missouri. Some of my favorites are listed here, and I will be adding more as I run across them.

Map Sites

• CARES Map Room: This resource allows you to create layered maps at your preferred scale. Whether you want roads, water, geology, soils, rainfall, or USGS topos, you can get it here. Possibly my favorite map site of all time. Once you've created a map, here's a little tip...click on the "Display Map Legend" radio button up on the top right hand side of the screen. That way you'll be able to see what in the world the map is trying to tell you. Yes, it took me a few times before I found that button.
• Web Soil Survey: You can get the real dirt on Missouri (or anywhere else) here. Amazing information about soil: suitability for farming, detailed soil types, suitability for digging a basement, and so on, and so on. This is a great place to check out the soil types between different properties you're considering.
• DNR Fact Sheets: This page of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources' website includes various maps and fact sheets. You can also explore the rest of the DNR site from here.
• Springfield City Map: A snazzy zoomable map of Springfield. Yes, you can do that on Google, but I like the format of this one.

Enjoying Your Land

• The private landowners' section of the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) website has a great deal of information.
• The main MDC site is also full of useful information on hunting, fishing, forests and other nature-related topics.
• The Missouri Grow Native site will tell you all you need to know about using native Missouri plants for projects from yard-sized to farm-sized. Includes plant descriptions, buyer's guide and much more.
• The USDA has a great locator map so that you can find the closest USDA offices to your new location. These offices include Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offices, Rural Development offices, Farm Service Agency offices, etc.
• Missouri's Extension Service offers a huge variety of programs and information on agriculture, horticulture, community development, and much, much more. They refer to the Extension Service as "Missouri's one-stop source for practical education on almost anything", and that's about right.

Missouri Facts & Figures

• There's a nice Missouri summary page at Infoplease. It reads like a junior high school research paper...principal industries, first settlers, and so forth. But there is definitely some interesting info here, and there are also links to various printable maps and other things. Possibly a good site for the kids, or to tell you all those facts you should know about your new home state, like the state bird. It's the bluebird, by the way, not the cardinal. Kind of surprising, really.