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1967 Map of Martello Castle

Name: 1967 Topographic Map of Martello Castle
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1969
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1969

About this map

Martello Castle stands as a coastal landmark on this late 1960s survey of the marshy wetlands where Orleans and St. Bernard Parishes meet. The landscape is defined by the massive industrial footprint of the Mississippi River - Gulf Outlet Canal, which cuts a straight, deep path through the winding natural hydrology of Grand Bayou and Mercier Bayou. Extensive Spoil Areas flank the canal, illustrating the immense scale of dredging required to maintain this shipping artery connecting Lake Borgne to the interior.

Water dominates the sheet, from the open expanse of the lake to the intricate network of tidal streams like Shell Beach Bayou and Terre-Beau Bayou. Coastal engineering is further evidenced by a system of levees, a floodgate, and several drill holes, reflecting the region's complex relationship between navigation, resource extraction, and flood control. The map preserves the exact alignment of historical waterways like Pirogue Bayou and Bashman Bayou before decades of coastal erosion further altered this fragile shoreline.