Loading map...

1986 Map of Duralde

Name: 1986 Topographic Map of Duralde
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1987
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1987

About this map

The low-lying prairie and bayou country along the Allen Parish and Evangeline Parish boundary is defined by a dense network of slow-moving waterways and agricultural infrastructure. In the mid-1980s, the landscape around the settlement of Duralde was heavily shaped by water management, featuring numerous flumes, siphons, and wells that supported the local rice and crawfish economy. The wandering path of Bayou Nezpique forms a natural spine through the center of the sheet, where the terrain is marked by distinct coulees and gullies.

Local life is concentrated around small clusters like Valentine and Hampton, with family and community history anchored at a rural Cem. The map reveals the intricate drainage patterns of the region, from the northern reach of Mulberry Creek and Grand Louis Bayou down to Tiger Point in the south. This survey captures a specific era of Louisiana's hydraulic landscape, where traditional bayou names like Bayou Blue and Bayou Duralde meet the modern engineering of a working agricultural interior.