1977 Map of Tuckernuck Island

About this map

Tuckernuck Island and the neighboring Muskeget Island are captured in this 1977 orthophotoquad, showing the shifting coastal geomorphology of the archipelago west of Nantucket Island. The aerial imagery reveals the intricate patterns of shoals and sandbars that characterize the waters between Nantucket Sound and the open Atlantic Ocean. This specific moment in the late 1970s documents the isolation of Esther Island and the western edge of the main island at Madaket. Produced by the Geological Survey and the Massachusetts Department of Public Works, the map emphasizes the natural state of these low-lying landmasses, where the absence of dense development highlights the ongoing environmental processes of erosion and deposition that define the Massachusetts coastline.