THE SWIFT COUNTY LAND BRIEF
Land in the
Des Moines Lobe setting.
Swift County has 742 square miles of land in Minnesota. 3 mapped landscape regions meet across Swift County: Des Moines Lobe, Tewaukon/Big Stone Stagnation Moraine, Alexandria Moraines and Detroit Lakes Outwash Plain.
Glacial till plains and windblown loess hills make up the Western Corn Belt landscape. Near-level and rolling terrain are interspersed with steeper river valleys and hills.
Regional context: Western Corn Belt Plains ↗ · Regional mapping across the county footprint
Where the landscape changes
Swift County intersects 3 mapped regional units. The largest mapped shares are:
- Des Moines Lobe47.8%
- Tewaukon/Big Stone Stagnation Moraine36.4%
- Alexandria Moraines and Detroit Lakes Outwash Plain15.8%
Northern Glaciated Plains in Swift County
Flat to gently rolling glacial terrain supports a prairie transition between taller and shorter grasses. Many temporary and seasonal wetlands occupy depressions left in the glacial landscape.
Read the regional source ↗North Central Hardwood Forests in Swift County
This transition between northern forests and southern farming country includes lakes, wetlands and hardwood woodland. Glacial landforms support a mosaic of open land and wooded areas.
Read the regional source ↗Finding your parcel within Swift County
The atlas lists 29 cities, towns, townships, and Census communities associated with Swift County, including West Bank, Cashel, Tara. The list includes overlapping geography types and does not divide the county into exclusive service areas.
Swift County by land and water
The Census records 10.1 square miles of water within Swift County, or 1.3% of its total area. That share is close to Swift County’s 1.3%. This is geographic context; waterfront status and usable land must be checked at the parcel.
For scale, Swift County has 1,067.6 times the land area of nearby Danvers city (0.7 square miles). These areas describe boundaries, not comparable property prices.
The Census boundary meets Big Stone County, Chippewa County, Kandiyohi County, Lac qui Parle County, Pope County, Stevens County within Minnesota. A tract near one of these lines should be matched to the county identifier on its own records.

