1935 Map of Padre Island No 1

About this map

Padre Island forms a narrow, shifting barrier between the hypersaline waters of Laguna Madre and the open Gulf of Mexico in this 1930s coastal study. Compiled from early aerial photography by the Air Corps and U.S. Army, the map documents the primitive state of this coastal reach before significant modern development. The survey emphasizes the intricate shoreline and drainage patterns of the island, which is presented here in its natural form without the roads or structures that would later define the Texas coast. This document reflects a specific era of surveying where aerial photography began to replace ground-based methods for mapping such dynamic, tide-affected landscapes, providing a baseline of the island's morphology during the mid-20th century.