Blog · October 14, 2026 · Minnesota
Using the Faribault Flood Zone Map
Flood zones are set by FEMA, and checking one near Dundas takes a few minutes.
Main page: Rice County, MN GIS & Parcel Viewer (official map link, county facts and neighboring maps).
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Weighing a property around Dundas? The Faribault flood zone map tells you whether FEMA puts it in a high-risk zone, and it costs nothing to check. Covered here for Faribault: finding the address on FEMA's map, decoding A, AE and X, and confirming the outline on the county map.
Where the Faribault flood zone map lives
Start with FEMA's Flood Map Service Center: search an address around Dennison, and pick the FIRMette or map view. A tract near Morristown without an address can still be found: zoom in from the nearest road and click the spot.
Pulling up a parcel
Parcels around Nerstrand can be looked up on the Rice County Beacon site, a viewer that needs no account. If you only know roughly where the land is, pan along the nearest road and click the parcel itself, and that holds around Morristown too. For acreage around Lonsdale, a pop-up or side panel usually lists the owner of record, assessed acreage, the parcel number and often a sale date.
Faribault and the county around it
Faribault lies within Rice County, Minnesota, and the county assessor maps its lots. Faribault is also the county seat, so deeds and plats are filed in town. For property near Nerstrand, the municipality handles matters such as zoning, permits and utilities inside its limits, and the county still keeps the parcel and deed records. Land beyond the city limits out by Dennison generally answers to county rules, not municipal ones.
Rice County in a few facts
Faribault serves as the county seat, which is where the courthouse records live. Other places on the map include Dundas, Morristown, Nerstrand, and Northfield. Around 67,948 people call Rice County home (Census Bureau estimate, 2023) on about 496 square miles. Rice County was formed in 1853, so old deeds can run back a long way. Landmarks such as Cannon River, Mississippi River, and Nerstrand Big Woods State Park help you orient on the aerial around Dundas.
Where the recorded documents are
When the details count, get the recorded deed through the County Recorder; the parcel map near Lonsdale only summarizes it. Older tracts near Dundas can trace back through a long string of deeds, so a title company earns its fee before a purchase.
Legal descriptions in Minnesota
Minnesota follows the Public Land Survey System, so deeds around Dundas reference sections and townships. Each section is nominally a mile square, about 640 acres, and a township holds 36 of them, though sections near Dundas can be irregular. Copy the legal description from the record for the parcel near Nerstrand when you talk to a surveyor.
Zones on the Faribault flood zone map
An AE label includes a base flood elevation (BFE), which plain A zones lack; builders around Northfield design to it. In and around Nerstrand, minimal risk is not no risk: according to FEMA, floods happen outside mapped zones too.
A short flood checklist
Ask the listing agent for any Elevation Certificate for the house near Northfield; an insurance quote early avoids surprises.
Lining it up with the parcel map
FEMA's map shows zones but not ownership, so open the Rice County Beacon site next for the outline of the tract near Morristown.
Before you lean on the lines
Tax maps are drawn for assessment, not surveyed, so a tree line near Lonsdale may sit some distance off the line on screen. Records update in batches, so a recent sale near Morristown may not show yet.
Beyond the mapped zones
Low-lying fields near Dennison may not have detailed mapping, so ask neighbors about past flooding. Marshy spots near Dennison can limit building too; the National Wetlands Inventory mapper shows mapped wetlands.
What a flood zone means for a buyer
Out toward Nerstrand, get the Elevation Certificate if one exists: it can change the insurance price a lot. Building or adding on near Northfield in a mapped zone often needs a floodplain permit; check with the county or town building office before you plan.
Getting answers from the right desk
If the acreage or value on a parcel near Dennison looks off go to the County Assessor, the office behind the parcel record. Building or septic questions for a lot near Morristown need the planning or permitting office, and the answer depends on jurisdiction.
Using it on a phone
Most viewers work in a phone browser, useful out on a road near Morristown, though signal can drop in rural spots. A saved image of the lot near Dundas and its lines keeps working without signal.
Frequently asked
Is AE a high-risk flood zone for land near Morristown?
An AE zone has a 1% annual chance of flooding and a base flood elevation, so builders near Nerstrand design to that elevation.
What is a base flood elevation near Nerstrand?
It depends, but a BFE near Nerstrand tells builders how high the lowest floor should be, and an Elevation Certificate compares the building to it.
How often are flood maps updated in Faribault?
Good question; a new study can move a zone line near Dennison; your community is notified before changes take effect.
When is flood insurance required around Morristown?
It depends, but lenders generally require it for buildings near Dennison in a Special Flood Hazard Area when the loan is federally regulated or insured; elsewhere it's optional.
Does the parcel map work on a phone for land near Morristown?
No app is needed for most county viewers; load it before you lose coverage near Dundas.
Open the official Rice County, MN parcel map See it in the Platbookmapper directory
Not a survey. County GIS and tax parcel maps are assessment and planning layers. They are not a substitute for a recorded plat, deed, or licensed survey, especially for fences, setbacks, or boundary disputes.