2024 Map of Ruddock

About this map

The narrow isthmus between Lake Maurepas and Lake Pontchartrain defines this coastal landscape in St. John the Baptist Parish. The map centers on the small settlement of Ruddock, a site historically tied to the cypress logging industry and the rail corridor that traverses these wetlands. The modern transportation spine is dominated by the elevated interstate and the parallel Old US Hwy 51, which follow a precarious path through extensive marshlands and cypress-tupelo swamps. Numerous waterways, including Shell Bank Bayou and Bayou Desert, snake through the terrain, illustrating the complex hydrology of the Mississippi River delta. The presence of the Ruddock Canal indicates the historical efforts to manage water and facilitate transit through this low-lying region, where the land surface is barely distinguishable from the surrounding lakes.