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1970 Map of Portage

Name: 1970 Topographic Map of Portage
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1972
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1972

About this map

Portage sits at the western edge of a complex hydraulic landscape where the Atchafalaya Basin Floodway dominates the geography of St. Landry and St. Martin Parishes. The map illustrates a transitional period of 20th-century land use, where the traditional natural waterways of the Atchafalaya River delta, such as Bayou Courtableau and Little Bayou Fordoche, are increasingly managed by an extensive Levee system and modern industrial infrastructure.

Evidence of the region's mid-century energy and aquaculture economy is visible through the Krotz Springs Oil and Gas Field and a dedicated Crawfish Farm near the river. Water control is a primary theme, with a Gaging Station monitoring flow near Bayou Mansella and the Grand Canal cutting through the southern bottomlands. The intricate network of bayous, including Bayou Duquesne and Bayou Fusilier, highlights the historical reliance on these natural channels for drainage and transport before the hardening of the floodway boundaries.