1950 Map of Dog Keys Pass

About this map

Mississippi Sound meets the open Gulf of Mexico in this hydrographic and topographic study of the barrier island chain. The map focuses on the shifting maritime corridor of Dog Keys Pass, a critical navigational opening between the eastern tip of Ship Island and the western reach of Horn Island at West Point. This mid-century record captures the coastal morphology before significant modern storm erosion and navigational dredging altered the shoal patterns and island footprints. The sheet is bisected by the Harrison Co Jackson Co line, which serves as an indefinite boundary through the sound and gulf waters. While largely aquatic, the map provides precise shoreline detail for the edges of these wilderness islands, documenting the sand dunes and soundings that defined the Mississippi coast's outer defenses at the start of the 1950s.