1947 Map of Bay Ronquille

About this map

The Grande Ecaille Oil Field stands as a primary industrial landmark in this coastal Louisiana landscape, situated within the marshlands of the Lake Grande Ecaille basin. The area is defined by a dense network of estuarine waters, where Cat Bay and Bay Ronquille transition into the open Gulf of Mexico. Surveyed from aerial photography by the Air Corps, the map depicts the complex interface of land and water before significant coastal erosion altered the shoreline. The Plaquemines-Jefferson Parish boundary cuts through these wetlands, crossing the western edge of Grand Terre and the tidal opening of Quatre Bayou Pass. Notable coastal features include the narrow spit of Pt Cheniere Ronquille and interior waterways like Bayou Robinson and Bayou La Mer, illustrating the natural drainage patterns critical to the local shrimp and oil industries of the mid-twentieth century.