Blog · October 14, 2026 · Montana
Granite County Flood Zone Map, Montana: a practical guide
The zone on FEMA's map affects insurance, building and resale near Lolo National Forest.
Main page: Granite County, MT GIS & Parcel Viewer (official map link, county facts and neighboring maps).
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Weighing a property around Maxville? A quick look at the Granite County flood zone map shows whether FEMA puts it in a high-risk zone, and the lookup is free. What this Granite County guide covers: finding the address on FEMA's map, decoding A, AE and X, and pairing it with the Montana Cadastral.
The Granite County flood zone map: start here
For a home near New Chicago, flood zones come from FEMA's Flood Map Service Center: enter the street address, and choose the dynamic map. Rural land near Hall with no street number can still be found: pan from the closest town then click the parcel area.
Opening the official parcel viewer
With a lot near Hall, the no-cost parcel map for this area is the Montana Cadastral, and anyone can open it without signing up. If you only know roughly where the land is, pan along the nearest road and select the outline, which applies near Quigley as much as anywhere. On ground around New Chicago, save the parcel ID from that panel; every office in the county asks for it first.
What to request from a seller
For land near Hall, request whether the home has flooded before closing; getting a quote early avoids surprises.
A word on accuracy
In and around Lolo National Forest, listed acreage is an assessed number; only a licensed surveyor can set the real corners on the ground. For property near Maxville, owner names and values update on a schedule, so a deed recorded last month can take weeks to appear.
Which office to call
Anything recorded against property around Drummond are with the County Clerk and Recorder, sometimes only in person. Questions about what you can build around Hall need the planning or permitting office, town or county, depending on location.
When a parcel crosses a boundary
Granite County borders Deer Lodge County, Missoula County, Powell County, and Ravalli County, all with their own assessor records. A tract near the line by New Chicago may be split in two county records, so check the neighboring map as well. If the land is near Maxville, the Platbookmapper state page lists every neighboring county map across Montana.
What the zone letters mean
An AE label comes with a base flood elevation, while plain Zone A does not; builders around Maxville design to it. Out toward Quigley, shaded Zone X marks moderate flood hazard, roughly the 100- to 500-year range; unshaded X is minimal risk.
Recorded documents worth pulling
When the details count, pull the recorded deed through the County Clerk and Recorder; the parcel line is a drawing of it, for land near Deerlodge National Forest included. Long-held tracts near Philipsburg may go back through many deeds, and a title company is worth hiring before a purchase.
Use the county map alongside FEMA
FEMA doesn't draw property lines, so open the Montana Cadastral next to confirm you have the right parcel near Philipsburg.
Money questions tied to the zone
For property near New Chicago, get the Elevation Certificate if one exists: it records the building's elevation against the base flood. Building or adding on near Beartown in a mapped zone often needs a floodplain permit; check with the county or town building office early.
Using it on a phone
Most viewers work in a phone browser, handy when you're parked on a road near Quigley, but coverage can be spotty out of town. A saved image of the lot near Philipsburg and its lines is a good backup.
Beyond the mapped zones
Small streams around Drummond aren't always studied in detail, so walk the land after rain. Wetlands near Lolo National Forest can limit building even outside a flood zone; check the National Wetlands Inventory mapper for a first look.
Getting your bearings
Philipsburg holds the county offices, where most land records are kept. You'll also find Drummond, Hall, Maxville, and Beartown, each with its own cluster of lots. Roughly 3,595 people live in Granite County (Census Bureau estimate, 2023) on some 1,727 square miles. Granite County was organized in 1893, and some chains of title near Quigley are long. Landmarks such as Deerlodge National Forest help you orient on the aerial.
Questions about the Granite County flood zone map
How do I get a property removed from a flood zone for land near Drummond?
Near Quigley, a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) from FEMA can remove a structure on naturally high ground; a surveyor's elevation data supports it.
Is AE a high-risk flood zone for land near New Chicago?
Generally, AE is a Special Flood Hazard Area with a published base flood elevation, so builders near Lolo National Forest design to that elevation.
Can I see flood zones on the Montana Cadastral around Hall?
Out toward Quigley, a flood layer may appear in the Montana Cadastral layer list, though it can lag behind FEMA's current panels.
What is a base flood elevation in Granite County?
For land near Philipsburg, the base flood elevation is the water level expected in the 1% annual chance flood; local rules may require building above it.
Why don't the lines match my fence near Deerlodge National Forest?
If you're looking near Drummond, parcel lines are tax drawings, not surveys, so a fence may sit off the line
Open the official Granite County, MT 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.