Blank Iowa map

What the outline shows

The map draws only Iowa's boundary. The east edge is the Mississippi River from the Minnesota line down to Keokuk, facing Wisconsin in the north and Illinois in the south. The west edge is the Missouri River against Nebraska, and above Sioux City the Big Sioux River against South Dakota. The north edge with Minnesota is a straight line. The south edge with Missouri is nearly straight, with a slight jog near the Des Moines River at the southeast corner. Nothing inside the outline is shown: no counties, no Des Moines River, no cities. Capital places Des Moines in the south-central part of the state; Abbreviation writes "IA".

Portrait or landscape

Iowa is about 310 miles east to west and about 200 miles north to south. Print in landscape. The outline then fills the width of a Letter or A4 sheet with a comfortable margin, and the two river borders are long enough to trace in detail. In portrait the state covers only the middle of the page and the many small meanders of the Mississippi along the east side become too small to follow. Landscape also leaves room beneath the map for a short list.

Five classroom exercises

1. Trace the Mississippi along the east edge and the Missouri along the west, then mark the four states across the two rivers.
2. Draw the Des Moines River from the Minnesota border through Des Moines to the Mississippi at Keokuk, and note that it forms a short piece of the Missouri state border at the southeast corner.
3. Draw the Big Sioux River meeting the Missouri at Sioux City and mark the point where Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota meet.
4. Place Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Sioux City and Iowa City; note which are on the Mississippi, which on the Missouri, and which inland.
5. Mark the Iowa and Cedar rivers flowing southeast to the Mississippi, and shade the Driftless Area in the northeast corner.

How to recognise the Iowa outline

• A block shape wider than tall with straight top and bottom edges.
• A wavy right edge (the Mississippi) with a bulge pointing east near Davenport.
• A wavy left edge (the Missouri and Big Sioux) that leans inward toward the top.
• A small notch at the bottom right corner where the Des Moines River meets the Mississippi.

Answer key and related maps

• Iowa map — the labeled version with capital, cities and borders; use it as the answer key.
• Printable Iowa map — the same outline with cities, county lines and the capital printed on.
• Iowa county map — all 99 counties with their seats.
• Des Moines — capital and largest city.
• Neighbours: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota.
• Mississippi River and Missouri River maps.
• All blank state maps and the printable US maps index.