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1952 Map of Lake Cataouatche West

Name: 1952 Topographic Map of Lake Cataouatche West
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1959
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1959

About this map

Lake Cataouatche and the northern reaches of Lake Salvador dominate this 1952 topographic study of the Louisiana wetlands. The landscape is defined by an intricate network of waterways, including the Louisiana Cypress Lumber Canal and the West Canal, which illustrate the industrial efforts to manage and extract resources from this saturated environment. The New Orleans Netherlands Drainage District occupies a significant portion of the upper eastern quadrant, marking an era of ambitious land reclamation and water control in St. Charles Parish.

Industrial activity is centered at the Bayou Couba Oil Field, where the Bayou Couba Oil Field Canal services the remote marsh interior. Natural features like Boss Piquant and Boquet des Chenes provide rare points of elevation or vegetation markers in a territory largely comprised of marsh. The boundary between St. Charles and Lafourche Parish follows the winding course of Bayou des Allemands, cutting through a mosaic of bays such as Baie des Chactas and Baie du Cabanage.