1965 Map of Davis Island

About this map

Palmyra Lake and the serpentine curls of the Mississippi River dominate this mid-century survey of the Tensas and Madison Parish borderlands. The landscape is defined by the legacy of hydraulic change, most notably the Davis Cutoff (1867) and the Yucatan Cutoff (1929), which left behind a complex network of oxbows like Grassy Lake and isolated landmasses such as Togo Island. A stark reminder of the river's power is noted near the southern edge at the Winter Quarters Crevasse May 4, 1927, a site of significant flooding during the Great Mississippi Flood.