This page shows some maps and aerial photographs of the Riverlands EDA and addresses the question of where the state line occurs.
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| (1) From the 1:24:000 Columbia Bottom U.S.G.S. quadrangle (1998). Although the map is dated 1998, it does not depict actual 1998 conditions, but those of several years earlier. "Lock and Dam No. 26" is the old lock and dam, which had been removed by 1998, the "Clark Bridge" is the old bridge, and the "Alton Slough" and adjacent land areas represent Ellis Bay prior to flooding by the new lock and dam "(Under Construction)". The "Road on Levee" does accurately represent the present Riverlands Way. Click on image for enlargement (152 kb). |
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| (2) Aerial photos. This image is a mosaic of 3 aerial photographs taken in the spring of 1996 (top 2) and the fall of 1992 (bottom). Time warp: There are no locks or dam in the image. In the upper photos (1996) the old dam and locks are already gone but in the lower photo (1992) the new locks do not yet exist and the dam does not yet appear to have gates. As a consequence, what is now Ellis Bay is not yet flooded in the lower photo. Click on image for enlargement (0.5 Mb). |
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| (3) Landmarks. On this map some major roads and the new dam structure are traced with dotted yellow lines and the state boundary is traced with a dotted orange line. It's not clear where the state boundary is west of the Clark Bridge! Click on image for enlargement (155 kb). |
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| 4. State line. The dotted lines from (3) are superimposed on the aerial photos of (2). Birds seen off the near east end of Ellis Island are in Missouri, but they don't have to go far to be in Illinois. Click on image for enlargement (0.5 Mb). |
Randy Korotev
January, 2001
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