The Brown County Illinois Land Cover Map set shows a west-central Illinois county where agriculture and forest both shape the landscape. Agriculture accounts for 54.22% of the 2025 summary, forest for 37.38%, developed land for 5.34%, wetlands for 2.05%, and water for 0.71%. Fields dominate the open areas, but wooded bands repeatedly divide them, while water and wetlands become more visible along the eastern Illinois River edge.
Four views are included: current land cover, forest and farmland, impervious surface and developed land, and a 1985–2025 class-difference comparison. The WebP images are arranged for quick reading, and the four original 2480 × 1754-pixel JPG maps are available together in one ZIP download for county profiles, lessons, agriculture and woodland comparison, and presentation graphics.
Table of Contents
Agriculture leads the summary, but forest breaks the county into a varied pattern
Agricultural color spreads across the northwest, west, center, and southeast. At 54.22%, it is the largest class, yet Brown County does not appear as one uninterrupted field block. Dark green forest repeatedly enters the yellow farm areas in branching shapes and larger patches, producing a more varied pattern than the percentage alone suggests.
Forest covers 37.38%. Broad green areas are visible in the north and southwest, while narrower wooded bands extend through the center and east. Brown County’s official website describes the county as a place of fertile fields and rolling hills in west-central Illinois. That background fits the farm-and-woodland contrast, although the land-cover map itself does not show elevation.
Developed land is 5.34%. The largest red concentration lies near the center. Brown County identifies Mt. Sterling as the county seat, and its city page places Mt. Sterling in the heart of Brown County, so the main cluster can reasonably be discussed as the Mount Sterling area. The raster edge is not the legal city boundary.
The Illinois River creates a narrow water-and-wetland zone on the east
Blue water and teal wetlands concentrate along the eastern side. Illinois DOT’s Brown County map identifies the Illinois River on that boundary, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers places the LaGrange Lock and Dam on the Illinois Waterway near Versailles in Brown County. Those sources provide clear geographic context for the river-edge pattern.
Open water is only 0.71% countywide, but its concentration makes it visible on the map. Wetlands account for 2.05% and occur as narrow bands and patches near the river and lower ground. The classes should remain separate: open water emphasizes exposed water, while wetland classes can include saturated soil and vegetation influenced by water.
A large agricultural block in the southeast comes close to the river-edge wetlands. That transition shows how cultivated land, woods, wet ground, and open water can meet within a short distance. It is not a parcel or levee map, so field boundaries, flood-control structures, and wetland jurisdiction require current official data.
The vegetation view makes the branching woodland pattern easier to follow
With developed and miscellaneous surfaces faded, the relationship between 54.22% agriculture and 37.38% forest becomes the main visual story. Large farm blocks remain in the west and southeast, but forest repeatedly divides them. In the southwest and parts of the east, green cover occupies a larger share and makes the county look less uniform than a simple agricultural total suggests.
Many forest edges are curved rather than straight, and narrow green bands extend into cultivated areas. That form may reflect woodland along drainage lines, slopes, or small valleys, but the map alone does not identify the physical cause. A topographic or hydrography layer is needed before naming a specific stream or valley.
Grassland is 0.08% and shrubland 0.05%, so neither is a defining class. Brown County is better described through the balance of agriculture and forest, with smaller wetland and water zones along the Illinois River side. University of Illinois Extension maintains a Brown County office in Mt. Sterling and provides agriculture, forestry, soil, and natural-resource information for deeper local research.
A 1.29% impervious mean hides a much darker Mount Sterling cluster
Mean impervious cover is 1.29%, and only 0.36% of the county is mapped at 50% impervious or greater. Those values are below the 5.34% developed share because developed classes can include lawns, trees, bare soil, and other permeable ground. Impervious cover focuses on harder surfaces such as roofs and pavement.
The darkest cluster lies in the central developed area around Mount Sterling. Fine lines extend outward, and a smaller concentration appears toward the southeast, while most agricultural and forest land remains at zero or low values. This makes the urban-rural contrast clearer than the general land-cover map.
Impervious surface is useful for discussing development intensity or runoff, but it is not a flood-risk map. Rainfall, soil, drainage, river level, and wetland connections also influence water movement, especially along the Illinois River edge.
The 1985–2025 comparison is dominated by scattered other class differences
The endpoint comparison reports 12.16% total class difference. Listed components are 0.81% classified as developed, 1.20% forest loss, 1.40% agricultural loss, and 8.62% other difference. Wetland difference appears in the legend without its own printed percentage, so it should not be estimated visually or treated as an official residual.
Purple other-difference cells are scattered across much of the county. Orange forest-loss and yellow agricultural-loss cells appear in smaller patches, while red developed-conversion cells stand out around the central settlement and a few linear traces. The eastern river zone also contains agricultural-loss and wetland-difference marks.
Loss in this legend means that a cell received a different endpoint class. It does not establish logging, abandonment, flooding, construction, or another process as the cause. Seasonal conditions, mixed 30-meter pixels, and classification variation can also contribute.
Choose the current overview first, then add the map that answers the question
For a general county profile, begin with the 2025 overview because it shows the agriculture-forest balance, Mount Sterling development, and the Illinois River edge in one frame. Use the forest-and-farmland image when the main question is how wooded land divides the cultivated landscape.
The impervious map is more useful for hard-surface intensity. Its 1.29% county mean looks small until it is compared with the darker Mount Sterling cluster. The change map works best after the current maps because its colors describe endpoint differences rather than present-day land cover.
Annual NLCD is a generalized raster product built on 30-meter square cells. A crop field, tree line, ditch, road, lawn, and building can share one cell while only one predominant class is shown. Enlarging the map does not reveal parcel detail that was not present in the source.
Each original JPG measures 2480 × 1754 pixels. The package does not identify the files as meeting an A3 high-resolution reference, so a test print is sensible before large-format enlargement. These files are useful for presentations, documents, teaching materials, and county comparison, not parcel, zoning, wetland-jurisdiction, or engineering decisions.
What is 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. Together they provide a consistent county boundary for comparing Brown County’s farm-forest mosaic, Mount Sterling hard surfaces, Illinois River wetlands, and endpoint class differences.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Brown County mostly agricultural or mostly forested?
Agriculture is the largest 2025 class at 54.22%, with forest second at 37.38%. The two are tightly interwoven, so the county does not divide into a simple farm half and forest half. Wooded bands and larger forest blocks repeatedly interrupt the agricultural areas.
Can the central developed cluster be used as the exact boundary of Mount Sterling?
No. Brown County’s official site confirms Mt. Sterling as the county seat and places it in the center of the county, so the main cluster is reasonably associated with the Mount Sterling area. The land-cover image does not show legal municipal boundaries.
Does 12.16% class difference mean 12.16% of the county was damaged between 1985 and 2025?
No. It is the share of cells receiving different endpoint classifications. Real land-surface change can contribute, but mixed pixels, seasonal conditions, and classification variation can also matter. Intermediate imagery and local records are needed to identify a specific cause or date.
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 Brown County
- Brown County, Illinois – official county information for Mt. Sterling and the local landscape
- University of Illinois Extension – Adams, Brown, Hancock, Pike and Schuyler – agriculture, forestry, soil, and natural-resource resources serving Brown County
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – LaGrange Lock and Dam – official Illinois River and Illinois Waterway context in Brown County
Map File Information
The ZIP contains four original JPG maps for comparing Brown County's agriculture and forest pattern, Mount Sterling development and hard surfaces, Illinois River wetlands, 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.
