Loading map...

1943 Map of Boca Chica

Name: 1943 Topographic Map of Boca Chica
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1943
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1943

About this map

Boca Chica Airport dominates the central landscape of this 1943 survey, reflecting the strategic military importance of the Florida Keys during the war years. The area is a complex network of islands and waterways, where the Boca Chica Key and Big Coppitt Key are connected by a road under construction, a precursor to the modern Overseas Highway. This infrastructure development is visible alongside established recreation spots like the Golf Course on Stock Island and the Sugar Loaf Club.

To the north and east, the archipelago thins into smaller landmasses such as Shark Key, Rockland Key, and the Saddlebunch Keys, separated by tidal passages like Boca Chica Channel and Geiger Cr. The map captures the keys before the intensive post-war residential boom, showing a landscape defined by natural shorelines, tidal flats, and early transport links between Saddlebunch Harbor and the Straits of Florida.