The Cass County Illinois Land Cover Map set is dominated by agriculture, but the county changes sharply near the Illinois River and in several wooded interior areas. Agriculture accounts for 69.09% of the 2025 summary, forest for 14.17%, wetlands for 7.76%, developed land for 5.64%, and water for 2.10%. The broad farm matrix is interrupted by the Beardstown and Virginia settlement areas and by a much wetter northwest corner.
Four views are included: 2025 land cover, forest and farmland, impervious surface and developed land, and a 1985–2025 class-difference comparison. The WebP images can be read on the page, and the four original 2480 × 1754-pixel JPG maps are available together in one ZIP download for county profiles, agricultural lessons, wetland discussion, and presentation graphics.
Table of Contents
The Illinois River side breaks up an otherwise broad agricultural county
Cass County’s official website describes the county as a small rural county along both the Illinois and Sangamon rivers, west of Springfield. That setting is visible in the supplied map outline. The northwest and western side contain broad blue and teal areas, while most of the south, center, and east are covered by agricultural color.
Wetlands account for 7.76% and water for 2.10%. These classes sit close together near the river but should not be merged. Open water represents exposed water surfaces, while wetland classes can include saturated ground and water-influenced vegetation. The northwest contains the strongest wetland-water concentration in the county.
Beardstown provides a useful local reference. The city’s official website states that Beardstown is located on the Illinois River and notes grain terminals that transfer farm products to barges. The large developed cluster on the western side sits beside the river-oriented natural cover, making this part of the map a good example of agriculture, settlement, water, and wetlands meeting in the same area.
Agriculture leads at 69.09%, with forest forming distinct interior belts
Agricultural cover fills most of the southern half, much of the east, and large areas through the center. The yellow blocks are especially continuous away from the river side. Development and wooded drainage-like shapes interrupt that pattern, but agriculture remains the dominant background across most of the county.
Forest covers 14.17%. Green cover is more concentrated through the central and northeastern interior, with additional woodland around wet areas in the northwest. Illinois DNR describes Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area in Cass County as a mosaic of mature forest, agricultural land, grassland, and rare hill prairie. The site lies between Ashland and Chandlerville and provides a strong local example of the mixed natural and working-land pattern visible in the eastern part of the map.
Developed land is 5.64%. The largest western cluster aligns with Beardstown near the Illinois River. A second substantial cluster lies closer to the center of the county. Cass County government offices and the courthouse are in Virginia, allowing that central cluster to be discussed as the Virginia area. Smaller town clusters appear farther east and south, but the raster map does not label their municipal limits.
The vegetation-focused map makes the farm-forest relationship easier to read
With developed and miscellaneous surfaces faded, agriculture becomes even more continuous. Beardstown and Virginia appear as pale openings surrounded by fields, while forest forms darker bands and blocks through the central and northeastern interior. Wetlands remain broad in the northwest, where the agricultural pattern becomes more fragmented.
Grassland accounts for 1.16% and shrubland for only 0.03%. Those are small countywide shares, yet grassland has local relevance in the Jim Edgar Panther Creek area, where IDNR manages a mixture of forest, agricultural land, grassland, and habitat strips. That local setting helps explain why small open-natural-cover patches can appear among the dominant cropland and woodland classes.
Straight-looking agricultural edges can resemble farm parcels, but Annual NLCD uses 30-meter raster cells. A cell can contain crops, a ditch, a tree row, a farm road, and part of a building while receiving one predominant label. Parcel ownership and exact field boundaries require cadastral data or higher-resolution imagery.
Impervious cover isolates Beardstown, Virginia, and smaller centers from the farm landscape
Mean impervious cover is 1.44%, and 0.66% of the county is mapped at 50% impervious or greater. Those values are below the 5.64% developed land-cover share because developed classes can include lawns, trees, soil, and other permeable surfaces. Impervious cover narrows the question to harder materials such as roofs and pavement.
The western Beardstown cluster contains the strongest hard-surface concentration. Virginia forms another clear center in the middle of the county, while smaller clusters appear toward the northeast and southeast. Faint linear traces connect the centers through extensive low-impervious farm country, producing a much simpler view of settlement intensity than the general land-cover map.
The 1985–2025 comparison reports 10.16% total class difference
The endpoint comparison reports 10.16% total class difference. Listed components are 0.91% classified as developed, 0.70% forest loss, 1.67% agricultural loss, and 6.49% other difference. Wetland difference appears in the legend without a printed percentage, so it should not be estimated visually or presented as an official residual.
Purple other-difference cells are scattered through the northwest, central interior, and eastern farm country. Agricultural-loss marks are noticeable around the western developed area and in several interior patches. Red developed-conversion cells are concentrated around settlements and thin road-like traces, while wetland-difference cells appear near portions of the river and lowland areas.
Loss in this legend means a cell received a different endpoint classification. It does not prove farm abandonment, logging, flooding, construction, or another cause. Real surface change can contribute, but mixed 30-meter pixels, seasonal conditions, and classification variation can also matter. Intermediate imagery and local records are needed to establish timing and cause.
A simple reading order keeps current cover, hard surfaces, and endpoint change separate
For a general Cass County profile, begin with the 2025 overview. It establishes the agricultural interior, the wet Illinois River side, the wooded eastern and central areas, and the major settlement clusters. The forest-and-farmland image works well next when the subject is agriculture, woodland, or wetland context.
Use the impervious map when the question is settlement intensity. The 1.44% mean can be compared with the much darker Beardstown and Virginia clusters and the extensive rural areas near zero. Place the change map last so present-day developed land is not confused with cells that changed to a developed classification between 1985 and 2025.
Files included in the four-map JPG download
The ZIP contains one JPG each for 2025 land cover, forest and farmland, impervious surface and developed land, and 1985–2025 land-cover change. The shared county boundary makes it easy to compare Cass County’s farm landscape, Illinois River wetlands, wooded interior, settlement centers, and endpoint class differences.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much of Cass County is agricultural in the 2025 map?
Agriculture covers 69.09% of the supplied 2025 summary. It dominates the south, east, and much of the center. The western and northwestern river side is different, with more wetlands, water, and forest interrupting the farm pattern.
Does the 10.16% class-difference value equal the amount of land physically changed since 1985?
No. It is the share of cells receiving different classifications at the 1985 and 2025 endpoints. Real change can contribute, but mixed pixels, seasonal conditions, and classification variation can also matter. Intermediate imagery and local records are needed to determine cause and timing.
Sources and Reference Data
- MRLC Annual NLCD Data – official access point for annual land-cover and comparison products
- USGS Annual NLCD Land Cover Classification – official guidance for the 30-meter land-cover classes
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line Shapefiles – official county-boundary reference for Cass County
- Cass County, Illinois – official county context for the rural Illinois and Sangamon river setting
- City of Beardstown – The Illinois River at Beardstown – official local context for Beardstown and the Illinois River
- Illinois DNR – Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area – official forest, agriculture, grassland, and conservation context in Cass County
Map File Information
The ZIP contains four original JPG maps for comparing Cass County's agricultural landscape, Illinois River wetlands, Beardstown and Virginia hard surfaces, forest cover, and 1985–2025 class differences.
- Included Files: Use only the versions confirmed in the article and supplied images
- File Type: Use the confirmed download contents
- Intended Use: Printing, education, presentations, and map-based projects
Related Maps
- Adams County Illinois Land Cover Map
- Alexander County Illinois Land Cover Map
- Bond County Illinois Land Cover Map
Green Map creates custom-edited map images using open geographic data sources such as geoBoundaries, Natural Earth, OpenStreetMap, and government open data.
These maps are edited visual materials, not raw data files, and are provided for education, documents, presentations, and graphic reference.
