1973 Map of Three Bayou Bay

About this map

The Barataria Oil and Gas Field dominates this Jefferson Parish landscape, where industrial infrastructure meets the complex hydrology of the Mississippi River Delta. This orthophotomap, derived from 1971 aerial photography, reveals the pervasive network of oil wells, drill holes, and offshore platforms that define the local economy. Navigational channels like the Barataria Bay Waterway and Dupre Cut provide straight-line transit through a labyrinth of natural marshland and open water, including Three Bayou Bay and Turtle Bay. The presence of the Texaco Heliport underscores the logistical demands of offshore and marshland energy extraction during the early 1970s. While human intervention is visible through a series of dams and pipelines, the map also documents the meandering natural paths of Bayou Rigolettes and Bayou St Denis as they flow toward the Gulf.