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Cowles Nebraska Map

Explore Cowles, Nebraska, with this interactive street and satellite map.

This page also offers TOPO MAPS — the official USGS topographic sheets — plus USGS aerial imagery, a labelled USNG grid overlay, a distance and bearing tool, and a GPS grid-reference readout. See How to Use This Map below.

Interactive Map of Cowles, Nebraska

How to Use This Cowles, Nebraska Map

This interactive map shows the street layout and satellite imagery for Cowles, Nebraska. Use the Map and Satellite buttons above to switch between street map and aerial imagery views. Use the + and − buttons to zoom in or out, or scroll your mouse wheel while holding the Control key to zoom. On a touchscreen, use a two-finger pinch gesture. Drag the map to pan to any area of Nebraska or beyond.

Click ⛶ Fullscreen to expand the map to fill your screen. To return to the normal page view, press the Escape key, click the ✕ Exit Fullscreen button that appears above the map, or on a mobile device tap the back button (Android) or the close icon (iOS).

TOPO MAPS — NEW. Click the green 🔍 Search Maps button below the map to open a second map with a Base map row offering three choices. OSM is the standard OpenStreetMap street map. Topo shows the official USGS topographic maps from The National Map — contours, hydrography, land cover and shaded relief, the same mapping used for hiking, hunting and back-country navigation in the Adirondacks, the Catskills and the Finger Lakes. Imagery shows USGS aerial photography, mostly 1-metre NAIP. The search box finds any US town, county or landmark by name, so you are not limited to Cowles.

Reading the map like a paper quad. Click Grid to overlay the U.S. National Grid (USNG), labelled along the edges exactly as a printed topographic sheet is — at normal zoom the squares are one kilometre across, so you can read a six-figure grid reference by eye and judge distance directly off the map. Click Measure, then tap two points, to get the distance between them together with the grid bearing in degrees and mils, the true bearing, and the magnetic bearing to set on a compass.

Click 📍 My position to take a single GPS reading from your device. It marks where you are and reports your position as a USNG grid reference as well as plain latitude and longitude — USNG being the format FEMA and US search and rescue teams work from — with a Copy position button so you can paste it straight into a text message. It takes one reading and stops, rather than tracking continuously, to conserve your battery. Note that map tiles need cell coverage, but a GPS reading does not — your coordinates stay correct even where the map itself cannot load.

City	Cowles
State	Nebraska (NE)
County	Webster County
Country	United States of America
Timezone	Central Time (America/Chicago)

Latitude	40.17168
Longitude	-98.445613
Population	21
Density	14.6 /km²
Incorporated	Yes
ZIP Code	68930
Area Code	308
County Seat	Red Cloud
School District	Blue Hill Public Schools

🌦 Goto Cowles Weather Page: Cowles, Nebraska — Weather Warnings, Forecast, Radar, Satellite & Current Conditions

About Cowles, Nebraska

Cowles is a locality in Webster County, Nebraska, United States. It is a small community with a population of 21. The population density is 14.6 people per km². Cowles is located at 40.1717°N, 98.4456°W. It observes the Central Time (America/Chicago) timezone. Cowles is an incorporated locality. ZIP code: 68930.

Cowles anchors itself firmly upon the vast, sun-drenched plains of Nebraska, where the horizon remains the primary arbiter of the day. It lies 28.8 miles south of Hastings, NE (from Hastings, NE: bearing 186°T), and is situated 34.8 miles southeast of Minden. Elm Creek carves a deliberate, quiet path through the landscape, its banks providing a cool, verdant contrast to the surrounding expanse of shortgrass prairie that stretches toward the distant, hazy prominence of The Island. The light here possesses a singular, crystalline quality at dusk, turning the dry stalks of the fields into husks of burnished copper before the long shadows of evening reclaim the earth. Nearby, the stillness of Gestring Reservoir catches the changing sky, offering a mirror to the immense, open dome of the heavens that defines the physical character of this terrain.

Cowles emerged from the ambition of the frontier era, its development tethered inextricably to the rhythms of agriculture and the expansion of the rail lines that once pulsed with the movement of grain and livestock. The local economy persists as a testament to the endurance of the prairie farmer, with the land yielding its harvest in cycles that dictate the pace of life in every household. Beyond the cultivated fields, the Elm Creek Wildlife Management Area preserves a fragment of the native ecosystem, allowing the original character of the plains to persist amidst the modern demands of the harvest. Whether in the quiet labor of the fields or the seasonal migrations of birds through the valley, the existence of Cowles continues to be shaped by the persistent, unyielding nature of the Great Plains.

Nearby Outdoor Places

Elm Creek Wildlife Management Area (State Conservation Area) — 2.9 mi, 180° S
Guide Rock Diverson Dam (State Recreation Area) — 7.4 mi, 157° SE
Narrows Wildlife Management Area (State Conservation Area) — 9.7 mi, 234° SW
Crystal Lake State Recreation Area (State Recreation Area) — 19.4 mi, 000° N
Kearney County Waterfowl Production Area (Resource Management Area) — 21.6 mi, 315° NW
Nuckolls County Historical Society Museum (Museum) — 22.6 mi, 117° SE
Indian Raids Historical Marker (Monument) — 22.7 mi, 061° NE
Clay County Waterfowl Production Area Of Ne (Resource Management Area) — 23.8 mi, 029° NE
Roman L. Hruska U.s. Animal Meat Research Center (Recreation Easement) — 24.7 mi, 026° NE
Geographic Center of the Contiguous United States (Attraction) — 24.8 mi, 197° S
Frager Field (Historic Ruins) — 26.9 mi, 047° NE
Lovewell State Park (State Park) — 27.0 mi, 131° SE
Franklin County Museum (Museum) — 27.1 mi, 260° W
Nebraska Military Historical Society Museum (Museum) — 27.3 mi, 014° N
Heritage Room Museum (Museum) — 29.0 mi, 081° E
Art Center (Arts Centre) — 29.2 mi, 007° N
Big Bird House (Attraction) — 29.5 mi, 354° N
Crosier Asmat Museum (Museum) — 29.9 mi, 007° N
Susan O. Hail Grave (Monument) — 36.3 mi, 337° NW
Lowell Historical Marker (Monument) — 39.1 mi, 327° NW
Hall County Waterfowl Production Area (National Wildlife Refuge) — 41.7 mi, 343° N · 642 acres
Glen Elder State Park (State Park) — 45.0 mi, 175° S
Ermas Desire Sculpture (Public Artwork) — 45.4 mi, 008° N
World's Largest Ball of Sisal Twine (Attraction) — 45.8 mi, 179° S
Waconda Springs Replica (Attraction) — 46.0 mi, 173° S
Hamilton County Waterfowl Production Area (National Wildlife Refuge) — 48.4 mi, 033° NE · 324 acres
Amphitheatre (Arts Centre) — 49.1 mi, 118° SE
Hornady Marshall Auditorium (Theatre) — 49.7 mi, 004° N
Mall 7 Cinemas (Cinema) — 52.8 mi, 004° N

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