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1953 Map of Engelhard NW

Name: 1953 Topographic Map of Engelhard NW
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1977
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1977

About this map

The vast wetland interior of coastal North Carolina is captured here in the mid-20th century, dominated by the low-lying terrain of East Lake and Lake Landing. This aquatic landscape is defined by the flow of the Alligator River and the intricate network of internal basins like Whipping Creek Lake and Swan Creek Lake. The map reveals a wild, saturated environment where drainage patterns are often unclear, noted by several instances of an Indefinite Boundary through the marsh and pocosin.

Evidence of human attempts to manage this water-bound territory appear in the alignment of Route 264 and the presence of surveyors' benchmarks like BM 5(E). The eastern portion of the sheet highlights the transition toward the Croatan area, where the Long Shoal River and Cumberland Creek begin their course toward the sound. This survey is particularly useful for understanding the historic hydrology and county lines between Dare Co and Hyde Co before modern development and rising tides altered the shoreline.