1981 Map of Sugar Hill

About this map

St George Island State Park dominates the slender northern tip of St George Island, a barrier landmass separating the open Gulf of Mexico from the protected waters of St George Sound. This 1981 orthophotomap provides a hybrid view of the landscape, combining topographic contours with photographic imagery to reveal the complex system of sand bars and underwater shoals extending from the coastline. Marsh Island and Pilot Harbor mark the landward side of the spit, where the transition from stable ground to shifting maritime environment is most evident. The bathymetric data, compiled from tide-coordinated surveys, highlights the shallow, ever-changing nature of the sound's floor and the vulnerable positioning of this coastal barrier during the early 1980s.