1957 Map of Oyster Bayou

About this map

Bay Junop and the surrounding marshlands of Terrebonne Parish reveal a landscape defined by the shifting interface of freshwater and brine in the mid-1950s. This survey, published by the Mississippi River Commission and the Corps of Engineers, documents the industrial presence of the Bay Junop Oil Field and numerous shrimp platforms dotting the waters of Caillou Bay. The intricate network of waterways, including Oyster Bayou and Hellhole Bayou, connects inland features like Big Hellhole Lake to the open Gulf of Mexico. A notable navigational landmark, the Oyster Bayou LH, stands near the western edge of Point Au Fer Island. The map records a specific ecological boundary where the line of demarcation between salt marsh and fresh marsh was not yet determined, offering a snapshot of the coastal environment before significant late-20th-century erosion changed these shorelines.