Vermilion Parish in south-central Louisiana has a sharp geographic contrast between its populated northern half and its broad coastal wetlands. Abbeville, Kaplan, Erath, Maurice, Delcambre, and Gueydan are concentrated in the upper portion of the parish, while White Lake, marsh channels, Vermilion Bay, and Gulf-facing water dominate the south. LA 14 and U.S. 167 provide clear road references around Abbeville, but farther south the Intracoastal Waterway and named bayous become more useful than roads. The matching high-resolution JPG map files shown on this page can also be downloaded together in a ZIP.
Abbeville is the parish seat. Louisiana’s official Vermilion Parish profile lists Abbeville and Kaplan as cities, Delcambre, Erath, and Gueydan as towns, and Maurice as a village. The Vermilion Parish Police Jury describes the parish as a Gulf Coast landscape combining prairie land, winding bayous, coastal marshes, agriculture, and distinct communities. That description matches the supplied maps closely: roads and towns dominate the north, while water and marshland dominate the south.
Table of Contents
Abbeville anchors the central road network around LA 14 and U.S. 167
The general map places Abbeville in the east-central portion of the parish, where LA 14 and U.S. 167 provide the clearest road references. LA 338 helps connect the Erath side to the east, while LA 13 reaches northwest toward Kaplan. Because several routes converge around Abbeville, it is the easiest place to begin before tracing the smaller highways outward.
West of Abbeville, LA 14 continues toward Kaplan, while the eastern road network becomes denser through Erath and Delcambre. U.S. 167 approaches from the Maurice and Lafayette direction to the north. Compared with the lower parish, this central band has far more road and settlement labels, making it the clearest expression of Vermilion Parish’s inhabited inland side.
Kaplan and Gueydan organize the western rural half
Kaplan is the strongest western city label and lies along the LA 13 and LA 14 corridor. Gueydan is farther northwest, with LA 91 providing a useful north-south reference. Between the two communities and farther south, the map shows large rural spaces crossed by many narrow drainage lines rather than dense urban streets.
The parish extends west toward Cameron Parish, where the boundary opens into a much broader lowland landscape. LA 335 crosses the central-western interior, while LA 35 runs farther south toward areas with far more water than development. Using Kaplan, Gueydan, and those route numbers together makes the western side easier to understand than following every minor local road.
Maurice, Erath, and Delcambre define the northern and eastern edges
Maurice sits near the northern tip of the parish and is easy to locate around LA 92 and LA 699. Roads such as LA 700, LA 343, and LA 696 fill the rural area between Maurice and Abbeville. Because the northern boundary bends rather than following one straight line, Maurice is a useful marker for the parish’s upper edge.
Erath lies east of Abbeville, with Delcambre farther east near the Iberia Parish line. LA 338 and LA 330 provide the clearest references in this part of the map, while LA 685 heads toward the lowlands to the south. Reading Abbeville, Erath, and Delcambre as one east-west sequence makes the transition toward the Vermilion Bay side much easier to visualize.
The ranked city index compares six selected communities across the upper parish
The city-index graphic ranks Abbeville number 1, Kaplan 2, Maurice 3, Delcambre 4, Erath 5, and Gueydan 6. These numbers are rankings, not straight-line or driving distances from Abbeville. Abbeville, Erath, and Delcambre form an eastern cluster, Kaplan and Gueydan lie farther west, and Maurice sits near the northern tip.
No ranked major city appears across the enormous southern marsh section. The city index is therefore best used as a simplified view of the parish’s principal populated places rather than a complete settlement map. The general road map and terrain-and-water map provide the additional context needed to understand the coastal half.
Vermilion River and the Intracoastal Waterway organize the inland channels
The terrain-and-water map gives the northern and central parish a different emphasis. Vermilion River is one of the strongest natural water references on the eastern side, while Bayou Grand Marais extends across the north-central interior. Coulee Kenny provides another named drainage line west of the Vermilion River. Even close to the towns, the map shows that drainage channels are an important part of the landscape.
The Intracoastal Waterway crosses the central parish and provides a very different kind of reference from the natural rivers and bayous. Pipeline Canal appears farther southwest as another engineered channel. Together, these features show how natural drainage and constructed waterways overlap across the low coastal plain, especially where roads become sparse.
White Lake and Vermilion Bay dominate the southern coastal landscape
White Lake is the largest inland water feature on the southwestern side of the map, surrounded by an intricate web of marsh channels. Vermilion Bay occupies the southeast, with Little Bayou Chene and the Vermilion River Cutoff helping define the wetland area just inland from the bay. The broad southern section that appears lightly developed on the road map becomes densely detailed once the water network is emphasized.
Mallard Bay appears to the west, while Weeks Bay and West Cote Blanche Bay provide wider coastal context east of Vermilion Bay. The Gulf lies along the southern edge, where shoreline, marsh, canals, and open water form a complex boundary rather than one simple coast. This map is intended for general geographic reference only; it does not provide flood-zone status, tidal depth, navigability, levee or water-control condition, or legal property boundaries.
Separating the populated north from the coastal south makes the parish easier to read
A practical first pass begins with Abbeville and places Kaplan and Gueydan to the west, Maurice to the north, and Erath and Delcambre to the east. LA 14 and U.S. 167 establish the main framework, with LA 13, LA 35, and LA 338 added where needed. That is enough to understand most of the populated upper parish.
The second step is to shift attention south to White Lake, Vermilion Bay, and the Intracoastal Waterway. The general map is best for communities and roads, the city index for the six ranked places, and the terrain-and-water map for marshes, canals, bays, and rivers. The sharp contrast between settled northern prairie and the broad wet southern coast is the defining feature that ties the three map views together.
High-resolution JPG files preserve small road and marsh-channel labels
The downloadable ZIP contains the original JPG files corresponding to the three previews on this page: the general parish map, the ranked city map, and the terrain-and-water map. Each original image is 3638 by 2572 pixels, providing more room to inspect route numbers, place names, bayous, canals, and coastal water labels than the web preview. The larger format is especially useful around White Lake and the Abbeville–Erath road network.
Choose the general map when Abbeville, Kaplan, Erath, and the state-road network need to appear together. Use the city index for a quick comparison of the six selected communities. The water map is the better choice for Vermilion River, White Lake, Vermilion Bay, the Intracoastal Waterway, and the coastal marsh system. These are general reference maps rather than legal boundary, survey, flood-risk, or real-time navigation products.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the parish seat of Vermilion Parish?
Abbeville is the parish seat. Louisiana’s official parish profile identifies Abbeville as the seat, and the supplied map also makes it the clearest road center around LA 14, U.S. 167, and LA 338. Kaplan lies west, Erath and Delcambre east, and Maurice to the north.
Do the numbers 1 through 6 on the city map show distance from Abbeville?
No. They are rankings for Abbeville, Kaplan, Maurice, Delcambre, Erath, and Gueydan, not straight-line or driving distances. Actual travel mileage and time should be checked with the general road map and current navigation information.
Can the White Lake and Vermilion Bay map be used for flood or boating decisions?
No. It is a general geographic reference showing Vermilion River, the Intracoastal Waterway, White Lake, Vermilion Bay, and nearby marsh channels. It does not provide flood-zone classifications, tidal depth, navigation clearance, levee or water-control status, or legal property boundaries.
Map File Information
The ZIP contains the original high-resolution JPG files corresponding to the general parish map, ranked city map, and terrain-and-water map shown on this page.
- Included Files: parish map JPG, ranked city map JPG, terrain-and-water map JPG
Related Maps
Sources and references
For parish-seat and municipality information, see the Louisiana.gov Vermilion Parish Profile. Local government and landscape context are available from the Vermilion Parish Police Jury. Road information and maps are available from Louisiana DOTD, general boundary data from the U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line Shapefiles, and national water-feature data from USGS National Hydrography.
Green Map creates custom-edited map images using open geographic data sources such as geoBoundaries, Natural Earth, OpenStreetMap, and government open data. These maps are edited visual materials, not raw data files, and are provided for education, documents, presentations, and graphic reference.
