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1979 Map of Pecan Island

Name: 1979 Topographic Map of Pecan Island
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1980
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1980

About this map

White Lake and the vast Oil And Gas Field dominate this coastal landscape, where narrow ridges provide the only high ground amidst the Louisiana marsh. The settlement of Pecan Island follows the line of these elevations, specifically anchored by Front Ridge and Back Ridge. These distinct geological features, including Cypress Point Ridge and Sweet Bay Ridge, dictate the placement of local infrastructure, from the Sacred Heart Ch and its accompanying Sacred Heart Cem to the Roadside Park along the main transit corridor.

Energy extraction is central to the area's economy, evidenced by numerous Gas Wells and the larger Gas Field to the south. The mapping of the Louisiana Meridian cuts through the center, while man-made waterways like the Schooner Bayou Canal and Pecan Island Canal facilitate movement through the wetlands. For the historian, this orthophotomap provides a clear view of how human habitation clung to these linear "islands" of dry land during the late 1970s.