2020 Map of Horn Island West

About this map

Horn Island dominates this coastal landscape, situated within the protected boundaries of the Gulf Islands National Seashore. This barrier island environment separates the shallow Mississippi Sound from the open Gulf of Mexico, illustrating the natural buffering role these landforms play for the Mississippi coast. The western reaches of the island include distinctive coastal features such as The Horseshoe and the shallow waters of the Middle Ground. The map captures a moment of preservation, highlighting the lack of permanent human infrastructure in favor of the shifting sands and delicate shoreline ecology of Jackson County. This document serves as a baseline for the island's morphology as it stood in the early 21st century.