Loading map...

1949 Map of Blackwater Sound

Name: 1949 Topographic Map of Blackwater Sound
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1949
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1949

About this map

Cross Key and the surrounding island chains of the Upper Florida Keys are captured here in the late 1940s, shortly after the transition of the former railroad right-of-way into a modern highway system. The map documents the intricate waterways and shallow sounds where Everglades National Park meets the Atlantic, including Blackwater Sound, Barnes Sound, and Long Sound.

Development is concentrated at Anglers Park on Key Largo, where the highway crosses Jewfish Creek into the mainland. The landscape is dominated by mangrove-lined points and small keys such as Boggy Key and Shell Key. Notable coastal features like Lake Surprise and Sexton Cove are clearly defined, along with maritime landmarks such as the Cormorant Rookeries and several navigational beacons that guided light-draft vessels through these treacherous flats.