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1956 Map of Alligator Point

Name: 1956 Topographic Map of Alligator Point
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1967
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1967

About this map

The brackish wetlands of Orleans Parish are defined here by a complex network of bayous and passes connecting Lake St Catherine and Lake Borgne. In the mid-1950s, the Louisville and Nashville railroad provided the primary land corridor through this marshy landscape, running parallel to the Intracoastal Waterway. This waterway was a critical piece of maritime infrastructure, noted here with a project depth 12 feet to accommodate coastal shipping traffic.

Remote coastal features such as Alligator Point, Shell Point, and Truloix Point anchor the shoreline, while the interior is a maze of named water bodies including Big Deedie Lake and Truloix Bayou. The presence of several Oil Wells in the open waters of the lake signifies the era's growing industrial footprint on the Gulf Coast. Small settlements like Lake Catherine stand as isolated outposts in this watery environment, illustrating the specialized nature of habitation along the Louisiana coast during this period.