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1965 Map of Shaw

Name: 1965 Topographic Map of Shaw
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1977
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1977

About this map

Mississippi River and Red River hydraulics dominate this landscape near the border of Concordia and Avoyelles Parishes. The terrain is characterized by complex wetland networks, including the expansive Dismal Swamp and a series of oxbows and remnant lakes such as Upper Sunk Lake, Lower Sunk Lake, and Grand Lake. The shifting courses of these major waterways have left behind a maze of bayous, with Cocodrie Bayou and Alligator Bayou snaking through the lowlands.

Industrial activity is centered on the Union Point Oil Field and Red River Bay Oil Field, which coexist with small river-adjacent settlements. Traces of local community life appear at Shaw, Black Hawk, and Union Point, while the Cocodrie Ch stands as a focal point for the rural population navigating this deltaic environment. Notable drainage features like the Grand Cutoff Bayou illustrate the ongoing engineering efforts to manage the river system's natural tendency toward lateral migration.