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1972 Map of Bay Keys

Name: 1972 Topographic Map of Bay Keys
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1973
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1973

About this map

Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge and Key West National Wildlife Refuge dominate this orthophotomap, showing the delicate marine environment of the lower Florida Keys in the early 1970s. The map uses aerial photography to depict the shallow flats and mangrove islands that characterize this part of the Gulf of Mexico. Navigation and water movement are central to the landscape, with the Intracoastal Waterway cutting a path through the shoals.

Several distinct keys and channels provide specific landmarks for mariners and researchers. West Harbor Key and the Bay Keys are surrounded by a network of deep-water paths including the Bluefish Channel and Calda Channel. These features illustrate the complex hydrography of the region before significant modern development, with bathymetric soundings and a lone Light marking the intersection of these natural waterways.