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1998 Map of Central Isles Dernieres

Name: 1998 Topographic Map of Central Isles Dernieres
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2001
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2001

About this map

The coastal environment of Terrebonne Parish is dominated here by the Isles Dernieres, a fragmented chain of barrier islands that separate the inland marshy bays from the Gulf of Mexico. In the late 1990s, the landscape is defined by the tension between wildlife conservation at the Isles Dernieres Barrier Islands State Refuge and the extensive industrial footprint of the energy sector. Massive offshore and near-shore extraction projects such as the Bay Round Gas Field and Wilson Pass Oil and Gas Field dot the waters with numerous platforms, illustrating the intensive oil and gas development of the Louisiana coast.

Waterborne navigation routes like Whiskey Pass and Coupe Nouvelle provide passage between Lake Pelto and the open gulf. The topography is exceptionally low-lying, with many landmasses labeled simply as sand, emphasizing the fluid and vulnerable nature of these islands. Inland, the map reveals a complex network of bayous, including Pelican Bayou and Big Misale Bayou, which drain into Pelican Lake and the surrounding coastal estuaries.