Lac des Allemands is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

located about southwest of

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

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 ...

, in

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 ...

, St. Charles, and

St. John the Baptist Parish St. John the Baptist Parish (SJBP, french: Paroisse de Saint-Jean-Baptiste) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, the population was 42,477. The parish seat is Edgard, an unincorporated area, and the largest c ...

es. The lake name is French for "Lake of the Germans", referring to the early settlers who inhabited that part of

. St. Charles Parish and St. John the Baptist Parish are part of a region called the

German Coast The German Coast (French: ''Côte des Allemands'', Spanish: ''Costa Alemana'', German: ''Deutsche Küste'') was a region of early Louisiana settlement located above New Orleans, and on the west bank of the Mississippi River. Specifically, from ea ...

. Lac des Allemands is a shallow lake, with a maximum depth of and an average depth of about . It is mostly located at sea level and measures about long and wide. The lake is fed by bayous in the Barataria Basin including Grand Bayou and Bayou Chevreuil. Its waters flow southeast into

Bayou des Allemands In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou () is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They ...

, then into

Lake Salvador Lake Salvador (french: Lac Salvador) is a lake about southwest of New Orleans, Louisiana, in Jefferson, Lafourche, and St. Charles parishes. The lake has had multiple names. On the d'Anville map of 1732, the lake was Lac des Ounchas. The Darby ...

and eventually 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 ...

. Lac des Allemands is surrounded by cypress

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

and the

bayou In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou () is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They ...

s and

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

s offer a habitat for

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

bream Bream ( ) are species of freshwater and marine fish belonging to a variety of genera including ''Abramis'' (e.g., ''A. brama'', the common bream), ''Acanthopagrus'', '' Argyrops'', ''Blicca'', '' Brama'', ''Chilotilapia'', '' Etelis'', ''Lepo ...

crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxis'' ...

and

panfish The word panfish, also spelled pan-fish or pan fish, is an American English term describing any edible freshwater fish that usually do not outgrow the size of an average frying pan. It is also commonly used by recreational anglers to refer to any ...

. Three species of catfish (flathead, channel, and blue) spawn in the lake from May through September. The community of

Des Allemands Des Allemands is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lafourche and St. Charles parishes in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 2,179 at the 2020 census. The town, known as the "Ca ...

is located southeast of the lake on Bayou des Allemands. In 1975,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Edwin Edwards Edwin Washington Edwards (August 7, 1927 – July 12, 2021) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the U.S. representative for from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972– ...

declared Des Allemands the "Catfish Capital of the World" and the

Louisiana State Legislature The Louisiana State Legislature (french: Législature d'État de Louisiane) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is a bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 represen ...

named it the "Catfish Capital of the Universe". Each July, Des Allemands hosts the Louisiana Catfish Festival. The name "Catfish Capital of the World" was challenged by another place that claimed the title, so Des Allemands was renamed to Catfish Capital of the Universe.

References

{{authority control Estuaries of Louisiana

des Allemands Des Allemands is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lafourche and St. Charles parishes in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 2,179 at the 2020 census. The town, known as the "Ca ...

Landforms of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana Bodies of water of St. Charles Parish, Louisiana Landforms of St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana Tourist attractions in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana

See also

References