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1893 Map of Forts

Name: 1893 Topographic Map of Forts
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1901
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1901

About this map

Fort Jackson and Fort St. Phillip stand as strategic guardians along the tight southern curve of the Mississippi River in this turn-of-the-century coastal survey. Compiled from earlier Coast and Geodetic Survey data, the map details a landscape almost entirely at sea level, where the river meets a complex network of bays, passes, and tidal marshes. To the east, the waters of Breton Sound and Bird Island Sound wrap around barrier features like Battledore Island and Sable Island.

Industry and navigation are evident in man-made features such as the Lucas Canal and Salt Works Canal, which cut through the marshy interior between Grand Coquille Bay and the river. The intricate drainage patterns of Bayou Grand Liard and the curiously named Bay Carrion Crow highlight the delta's shifting geography. This document serves as a detailed record of the lower Plaquemines Parish coastline before decades of coastal erosion and storms altered the shapes of islands like Little Bird Island and Hog Islands.