Nezpique River (locally pronounced , translated to ''"tattooed nose bayou"'') is a small river located in the

Mermentau River The Mermentau River (french: Rivière Mermentau) is a river in southern Louisiana in the United States. It enters the Gulf of Mexico between Calcasieu Lake and Vermilion Bay on the Chenier Coastal Plain. The Mermentau River supplies freshwater ...

basin of south

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, USA. The river is long and is navigable by small shallow-draft boats for of lower course. Mermentaurivermap

The area was first settled by the

Attakapa The Atakapa Sturtevant, 659 or Atacapa were an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, who spoke the Atakapa language and historically lived along the Gulf of Mexico in what is now Texas and Louisiana. They included several distinct band ...

Indian tribe. The river was named by French colonists after the Attakapa village along the Bayou Nezpiqué. Later William Wikoff bought property here, some on the west bank of the river, from ''Le Tortue'', an Attakapa Indian, and his son Celestine. Le Tortue (tortoise in French) was chief of the village of Nezpiqué; the transaction was recorded in 1791. In 1932, linguist William A. Read explained that the word ''Nezpiqué'', or "tattooed nose", "simply emphasizes the fact that the Indians in its vicinity practiced the art of tattooing." The river depth in the Upper Bayou region in

Evangeline Parish Evangeline Parish (french: Paroisse d'Évangéline) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 33,984. The parish seat is Ville Platte. History The parish was created out of lands formerly be ...

is about 7–10 feet average, while in the lower river course, it deepens to about 35–40 feet average. Since the late 20th century, the Nezpique River is controlled by the Upper Bayou Nezpique No 7 Dam, which was completed in 1970 in

. The dam was constructed for flood control purposes and its normal surface area is . It is of earth construction and its length is . Maximum discharge is per second. Its capacity is . Also, the River contains the

Crooked Creek Reservoir Crooked may refer to: * Crooked Creek (disambiguation) * Crooked Island (disambiguation) * Crooked Lake (disambiguation) * Crooked River (disambiguation) * Crooked Harbour, Hong Kong * Crooked Forest, West Pomerania, Poland * Crooked Bridge, a ...

, which is impounded by the Upper Bayou Nezpique No 3 Dam in Evangeline Parish. It is used for flood control and recreation purposes. Construction was completed in 1974 and it has a normal surface area of .findlakes.com "Upper Bayou Nezpique No 3, southwest Louisiana"
/ref>

References

Rivers of Louisiana Dams in Louisiana Bodies of water of Evangeline Parish, Louisiana {{Louisiana-river-stub

See also

References