Blog · October 14, 2026 · South Dakota
Spearfish Flood Zone Map, South Dakota: a practical guide
Flood zones are set by FEMA, and checking one near Deadwood takes a few minutes.
Main page: Lawrence County, SD GIS & Parcel Viewer (official map link, county facts and neighboring maps).
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Ahead of any purchase around Central City, look at the Spearfish flood zone map: FEMA's zone label affects insurance, building rules and resale. Covered here for Spearfish: finding the address on FEMA's map, decoding A, AE and X, and pairing it with the Lawrence County Beacon site.
Checking the Spearfish flood zone map step by step
Start with FEMA's Flood Map Service Center: type an address near Whitewood, then open the map view for that panel. A tract near Lead without an address can still be found: zoom in from the nearest road then click the parcel area.
Where the parcel data lives
Go first to the Lawrence County Beacon site; it includes every tax parcel from Whitewood to Central City. In and around Deadwood, type a street address, an owner's name or a parcel number, and the viewer zooms to the match. In and around Lead, a pop-up or side panel usually lists the owner of record, acreage on the tax roll, a parcel ID and sometimes recent sales.
What to request from a seller
Ask the seller whether the home has flooded on the property near Lead; getting a quote early keeps the budget honest.
Lawrence County in a few facts
Deadwood holds the county offices, where most land records are kept. Smaller places on the map include Central City, Whitewood, and Lead, where town lots give way to larger tracts. Around 28,053 people live in Lawrence County (Census estimate, 2023) across roughly 800 square miles. Places such as Black Hills National Forest are easy to spot when you zoom out from Central City.
Where Spearfish fits in
Spearfish lies within Lawrence County, South Dakota, so its parcels are on the county's map. If the land is near Lead, City or town hall handles matters such as zoning, permits and utilities within town limits, and the county still keeps the parcel and deed records. Acreage past the town limits out by Central City often falls under county rules rather than the town's.
What the map can't tell you
The acreage figure is an estimate; just a licensed surveyor establishes the real boundary for a parcel near Whitewood. Owner names and values update on a schedule, so a fresh transfer around Whitewood might lag behind.
How land is described here
South Dakota follows the Public Land Survey System, which means a tract near Whitewood is described by section, township and range. Each section is nominally a mile square, about 640 acres, and a township holds 36 of them, though corrections make some sections near Deadwood odd-sized. Write down the legal description for the tract near Deadwood when you talk to a surveyor.
Backing up the map with records
The map is an index, not the title: recorded deeds, subdivision plats and easements covering ground around Deadwood are kept by the Register of Deeds. For acreage around Central City, have ready the document number shown in the record panel so staff can find the deed fast.
Which office to call
Recorded documents for a parcel near Whitewood sit in the index kept by the Register of Deeds, often with an online index. Zoning, permits and septic questions near Deadwood go to planning, building or health offices, and the answer depends on jurisdiction.
Zones on the Spearfish flood zone map
Near Central City, any A or V zone are Special Flood Hazard Areas, land with a 1-percent chance of flooding in any year. For a home near Deadwood, a shaded X area marks moderate flood hazard, roughly the 100- to 500-year range; plain X, or C on older maps, is minimal risk.
Matching the zone to the lot lines
FEMA doesn't draw property lines, so check the Lawrence County Beacon site too for the outline of the tract near Central City.
Beyond the mapped zones
Creeks and ditches near Whitewood may not have detailed mapping, so walk the land after rain. Wet ground around Lead is a separate issue from flood zones; the National Wetlands Inventory mapper shows mapped wetlands.
Insurance, lenders and building
For a structure inside an A or V zone and a federally regulated lender is involved, the lender will require flood insurance in communities in the NFIP, whether the land is near Whitewood or elsewhere in the county. Remodeling a house in a zone near Whitewood often needs a floodplain permit; call the permitting office early.
Quick answers
Is my property near Whitewood in a flood zone?
Search the address near Lead on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center; no account is needed.
How often are flood maps updated in Spearfish?
Zones near Lead can shift when FEMA updates a panel; your community is notified before changes take effect.
What is a LOMA near Lead?
For most people, you can ask FEMA for a LOMA if surveyed elevations show the building near Central City is above the BFE; it starts with an elevation survey.
What is a base flood elevation in Spearfish?
Short answer: the base flood elevation is the water level expected in the 1% annual chance flood; surveyors near Central City use it often.
What is a parcel ID near Whitewood?
The parcel ID identifies one tax parcel near Whitewood; you'll see it in the viewer and on tax statements.
Open the official Lawrence County, SD 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.