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1892 Map of Chef Menteur

Name: 1892 Topographic Map of Chef Menteur
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1898
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1898

About this map

Chef Menteur Prairie dominates this late-nineteenth-century coastal landscape, where the marshlands of eastern Orleans Parish meet the open waters of Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne. The infrastructure of the era is defined by the vital rail corridors of the New Orleans and North Eastern Railroad and the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, which navigate the precarious wetlands between the city and the Mississippi border.

Maritime and military history converge at the Chef Menteur Pass, guarded by the strategic fortifications of Ft Macomb. Along the shore of the lake, the Light House at Pt aux Herbes serves as a lone sentinel for coastal navigation. Small settlements like Micheaud and Lee appear as modest outposts along the rail lines and winding waterways like Bayou Sauvage, marking the early human footprint in this ecologically complex delta region.