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1952 Map of Cedar Lakes West

Name: 1952 Topographic Map of Cedar Lakes West
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1970
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1970

About this map

Cowtrap Lake and the marshy coastal reaches of the Matagorda and Brazoria county line define this early 1950s landscape. This survey documents the critical engineering of the Intracoastal Waterway as it cuts behind the barrier shoreline, protected by a long Levee and punctuated by industrial infrastructure. The presence of several Oil Wells and an Abandoned Canal indicates the extraction and transport history of the Texas Gulf coast during this era.

Navigability and water management are central themes, seen in the Project Depth 12 Feet notation and the Pontoon Bridge crossing near Dead Caney Lake. The terrain is a complex network of brackish features, including Cocklebur Slough, Cedar Lake Creek, and the tidal waters of Choctaw Lake. Numerous windmills dot the inland pastures, showing the reliance on groundwater for ranching just miles from the salt spray of the Gulf of Mexico.