Atchafalaya River

Atchafalaya River

The Atchafalaya River is a distributary of the Mississippi and Red rivers, approximately 170 miles (270 km) long, in south central Louisiana in the United States. It is navigable and provides a significant industrial shipping channel for the state of Louisiana, as well as the cultural heart of the Cajun Country. The maintenance of the river as a navigable channel of the Mississippi has been a significant project of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for over a century.

It is formed near Simmesport at the confluence of the Red River with the Mississippi, where the Mississippi connects to the Red by the 7-mile (11-km) canalized Old River. It receives the water of the Red as well as part of the water of the Mississippi, which itself continues in its main channel to the southeast. It meanders south as a channel of the Mississippi, through extensive levees and floodways, past Morgan City, and empties into the Gulf of Mexico in Atchafalaya Bay approximately 15 miles (25 km) south of Morgan City. The river is now forming a new delta in the bay – the only place on the Louisiana coastline that is gaining ground.

ee also

*List of Louisiana rivers
*Mississippi River Delta

External links

* [http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/atchafalaya/navbook.html U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]
* [http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/infobank/programs/html/school/keypage/Atchafalaya_River.html USGS Infobank: Atchafalaya River]
* [http://apt.allenpress.com/aptonline/?request=get-abstract&issn=0749-0208&volume=014&issue=03&page=0882 Delta Switching: Early Responses to Atchafalya Diversion]
* [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/content/?050912fr_archive01 John McPhee: The Control of Nature - Atchafalaya ("The New Yorker")]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Atchafalaya River — Verlauf des Flusses DatenVorlage:Infobox Fluss/GKZ fehlt Lage …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Atchafalaya River — River, southern Louisiana, U.S. Rising in central Louisiana, it flows south 225 mi (362 km) into Atchafalaya Bay. It is an additional outlet for the Red and Mississippi rivers during periods of high water. Its name is Choctaw for long river. * *… …   Universalium

  • Atchafalaya River — …   Useful english dictionary

  • Atchafalaya (Rivière) — Atchafalaya Le delta de l Atchafalaya sur le Golfe du Mexique. La vue est prise vers le nord est …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Atchafalaya (riviere) — Atchafalaya (rivière) Atchafalaya Le delta de l Atchafalaya sur le Golfe du Mexique. La vue est prise vers le nord est …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Atchafalaya Basin — The Atchafalaya Basin, or Atchafalaya Swamp, is the largest swamp in the United States. Located in south central Louisiana, it is a combination of wetlands and river delta area where the Atchafalaya River and the Gulf of Mexico converge. The… …   Wikipedia

  • Atchafalaya Basin — Das Atchafalaya Basin oder Atchafalaya Swamp ist der größte Sumpf der Vereinigten Staaten. Es liegt im südlichen Zentrallouisiana, wo der Atchafalaya River in den Golf von Mexiko mündet und ist eine Kombination aus Feuchtgebieten und… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Atchafalaya (rivière) — 30°17′5″N 91°40′19″O / 30.28472, 91.67194 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • river — river1 riverless, adj. riverlike, adj. /riv euhr/, n. 1. a natural stream of water of fairly large size flowing in a definite course or channel or series of diverging and converging channels. 2. a similar stream of something other than water: a… …   Universalium

  • Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge — Infobox Protected area name = Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge iucn category = IV caption = Map of the United States base width = locator x = 165 locator y = 144 location = St. Landry Parish, Louisiana nearest city = Krotz Springs, Louisiana… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”