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2019 Map of Fairfield

Name: 2019 Topographic Map of Fairfield
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2019
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2019

About this map

Fairfield sits at the northern edge of the massive Lake Mattamuskeet, where the hydrologic engineering of coastal North Carolina is on full display. This landscape is defined by an intricate grid of artificial waterways, including the Pungo River Alligator River Canal and the Intracoastal Waterway, which facilitate drainage and transport through the low-lying wetlands of Hyde County. The settlement patterns follow these narrow corridors, with roads like Canal St and Church St mirroring the linear paths of the Fairfield Canal and other cuts such as Burus Canal and Carters Canal.

Evidence of the area's specialized local infrastructure appears in the form of Whitfield's East Airport and the Fairfield Bridge, which crosses the canal system. The boundary between Tyrrell Co and Hyde Co runs through the northern reaches near New Lake Fork, illustrating how these water-logged territories were historically partitioned. To the south, the map captures the transition into the open waters of the lake, accessed via points like Frying Pan Lndg.