Bayou Lafourche ( ), originally called Chetimachas River or La Fourche des Chetimaches, (the fork of the

Chitimacha The Chitimacha ( ; or ) are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans who live in the U.S. state of Louisiana, mainly on their reservation in St. Mary Parish near Charenton on Bayou Teche. They are the only Indigenous people in the s ...

), is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed June 20, 2011 bayou in southeastern

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 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, that flows into the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

. The bayou is flanked by

Louisiana Highway 1 Louisiana Highway 1 (LA 1) is a state highway in Louisiana. At , it is the longest numbered highway of any class in Louisiana. It runs diagonally across the state, connecting the oil and gas fields near the island of Grand Isle with the ...

on the west and

Louisiana Highway 308 Louisiana Highway 308 (LA 308) is a state highway in Louisiana that serves Ascension, Assumption, and Lafourche Parishes. It spans , following the east bank of Bayou Lafourche from Donaldsonville to Golden Meadow. It parallels LA 1 during i ...

on the east, and is known as "the longest Main Street in the world." It flows through parts of Ascension,

Assumption Assumption, in Christianity, refers to the Assumption of Mary, a belief in the taking up of the Virgin Mary into heaven. Assumption may also refer to: Places * Assumption, Alberta, Canada * Assumption, Illinois, United States ** Assumption Tow ...

, and

Lafourche Lafourche Parish (french: Paroisse de la Fourche) is a parish located in the south of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Thibodaux. The parish was formed in 1807. It was originally the northern part of Lafourche Interior Parish, whi ...

parishes. Today, approximately 300,000 Louisiana residents drink water drawn from the bayou.

History

The name Lafourche is from the French for "the fork", and alludes to the bayou's large outflow of Mississippi River water. The first settlements of

Acadians The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the des ...

in southern Louisiana were near Bayou Lafourche and Bayou des Écores, which led to a close association of the bayou with

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

culture. It was formerly a

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

outlet (

distributary A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Distributaries are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributar ...

), but was dammed at Donaldsonville in 1905. The dam cut off nourishment and replenishment of a huge wetland area of central Louisiana. It changed the formerly flowing bayou into a stagnant ditch. The Bollinger Shipyards, founded by Donald G. Bollinger, was launched on Bayou Lafourche in 1946. On August 29, 2021,

Hurricane Ida Hurricane Ida was a deadly and extremely destructive Category 4 Atlantic hurricane in 2021 that became the second-most damaging and intense hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. state of Louisiana on record, behind Hurricane Katrina in 200 ...

made landfall in Lafourche parish. Dam walls at the end of the bayou were closed to prevent a

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the n ...

of salt water from entering.

Mississippi River reintroduction

A long-term project to revitalize Bayou Lafourche with an increased flow of fresh water from the Mississippi River and halt the accelerated loss of land down the bayou is currently in progress. In 2016, Bayou Lafourche was

dredged Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

from Donaldsonville to Napoleonville of vegetation and sediment that constricted the surface area of the water. In Lockport, a water gate was constructed on Bayou Lafourche to mitigate the amount of salt water invading the bayou during periods of low tide. In 2021, a

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

was removed in

Thibodaux Thibodaux ( ) is a city in, and the parish seat of, Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the banks of Bayou Lafourche in the northwestern part of the parish. The population was 15,948 at the 2020 census. Thibodaux is a principal city ...

, allowing recreational boating passage through the entire bayou. By 2025, a $96 million pumping station is set to be completed in Donaldsonville, next to the original that was constructed in 1950. The new station will be able to pump three times the amount of fresh water from the Mississippi River than the original and, in turn, return the flow of water throughout the bayou during low tides.

Crossings

From north to south, the following roads and railroads cross the bayou (almost all connecting LA 1 to

LA 308 Louisiana Highway 308 (LA 308) is a state highway in Louisiana that serves Ascension, Assumption, and Lafourche Parishes. It spans , following the east bank of Bayou Lafourche from Donaldsonville to Golden Meadow. It parallels LA 1 during ...

): *

LA 3089 LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

(Albert Street) in Donaldsonville *

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

Livonia Subdivision in Donaldsonville *Rondinaud Road in Donaldsonville * LA 943 * LA 998 at Belle Rose * LA 70 * LA 403 at

Paincourtville Paincourtville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Assumption Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 911 at the 2010 census. History Legend says an early traveler, unable to buy a single loaf of bread there, facetiously called th ...

* LA 70 Spur *Bridge Street at Plattenville * LA 402, Hospital Rd. at Napoleonville *former

Texas and Pacific Railway The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. History Under the influence of ...

(now open to non-motorized traffic) * LA 1008 at Napoleonville * LA 1010 at Ingleside * LA 1011 at Supreme * LA 1247 at Labadieville * St. John Bridge * LA 3185 *Tiger Drive *former railroad in

* LA 20 (St. Patrick Street) in Thibodaux *Canal Boulevard in Thibodaux *Banker Drive (no motor vehicles) in Thibodaux *Audubon Avenue * LA 648 *Lafourche Crossing,

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

Lafayette Subdivision at

* LA 649 ( St. Charles Swing Bridge) at St. Charles * Raceland Lift Span Bridge * LA 182 ( Raceland Lift Bridge) at Raceland *

US 90 U.S. Route 90 or U.S. Highway 90 (US 90) is an east–west major United States highway in the Southern United States. Despite the "0" in its route number, US 90 never was a full coast-to-coast route. With the exception of a short-live ...

*former LA 364 * LA 654 ( Champagne-Harrelson Memorial Bridge) * LA 655 ( Rita Bridge) at Lockport * LA 3220 ( Bollinger Bridge) * Valentine Bridge at Valentine * T-Bois Bridge *Former LA 310 Pontoon Bridge at Larose * LA 657 Vertical Lift Bridge at Larose * Le Pont D'or Bridge at Larose * Cote Blanche Bridge at Cut Off * LA 3162 (

South Lafourche Bridge The South Lafourche Bridge crosses Bayou Lafourche at Louisiana Highway 3162 and East 90th Street in the town of Galliano, Louisiana. Built in 1972, this vertical-lift bridge A vertical-lift bridge or just lift bridge is a type of movab ...

) at Galliano, southern terminus of LA-308 * Galliano Pontoon Bridge at Galliano *

(

Golden Meadow Lift Bridge The Golden Meadow Lift Bridge crosses Bayou Lafourche in the town of Golden Meadow, Louisiana, and is the southern terminus of Louisiana Highway 308, LA-308. Built around 1970, this vertical-lift bridge has a total length of 204 feet with its large ...

) in Golden Meadow * LA 1 ( Gateway to the Gulf Expressway) at Leeville

In popular culture

The film ''

Southern Comfort Southern Comfort (often abbreviated SoCo) is an American, naturally fruit-flavored, whiskey liqueur with fruit and spice accents. The brand was created by bartender Martin Wilkes Heron in New Orleans in 1874, using whiskey as the base spirit. W ...

'' is set on Bayou Lafourche. At the end of the novel ''

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

'' by

Charles Bukowski Henry Charles Bukowski ( ; born Heinrich Karl Bukowski, ; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambience of his adopted ...

, protagonist

Henry Chinaski Henry Charles "Hank" Chinaski is the literary alter ego of the American writer Charles Bukowski, appearing in five of Bukowski's novels, a number of his short stories and poems, and the films ''Barfly (film), Barfly'' and Factotum (film), ''Factot ...

quits his job at the Los Angeles post office to "pick up 10 or 20 grand for 3 months trapping at Bayou La Fourche. .. Muskrats,

nutria The nutria (''Myocastor coypus''), also known as the coypu, is a large, herbivorous, semiaquatic rodent. Classified for a long time as the only member of the family Myocastoridae, ''Myocastor'' is now included within Echimyidae, the family of ...

, mink, otter... coon. All I need is a

pirogue A pirogue ( or ), also called a piragua or piraga, is any of various small boats, particularly dugouts and native canoes. The word is French and is derived from Spanish , which comes from the Carib '. Description The term 'pirogue' does n ...

." In

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

Network's supernatural-fantasy series, '' The Originals'', the Bayou Lafourche is a major setting and has acted as the home of the

Werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely ...

encampments for decades after the

Vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

s exiled them from the city of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. In the film Hard Target, the lead character Chance Boudreaux, played by Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Cajun from Bayou Lafourche in Southern Louisiana.

References

{{authority control Wetlands and bayous of Louisiana Dams in Louisiana Rivers of Louisiana Rivers of Ascension Parish, Louisiana Bodies of water of Assumption Parish, Louisiana Bodies of water of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana Donaldsonville, Louisiana Thibodaux, Louisiana

History

Mississippi River reintroduction

Crossings

In popular culture

See also

References