1998 Map of Indian Lake

About this map

Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge and the Big Lake State Wildlife Management Area dominate this section of the Louisiana delta, where the boundary between Madison Parish and Franklin Parish follows the winding path of Bayou Macon. The landscape is defined by the hydrologic complexity of the Tensas basin, featuring numerous oxbows and backwaters like Indian Lake, Africa Lake, and Buck Lake. This late-twentieth-century survey illustrates the region's character as a managed wilderness, where human infrastructure is limited to features like a small Landing Strip and a Boat Ramp near the Bayou Macon Cut-off. Extensive Spoil Banks along several waterways indicate the history of dredging and water management required to navigate and drain this alluvial terrain. The presence of Bakers Brake and Chain Lake underscores the seasonally flooded, low-lying nature of the bottomlands before they reach the main channel of the Tensas River.