Bayou Lafourche ( ), originally called Chetimachas River or La Fourche des Chetimaches, (the fork of the Chitimacha), is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed June 20, 2011

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 ...

in southeastern Louisiana, United States, that flows into the Gulf of Mexico. The bayou is flanked by Louisiana Highway 1 on the west and Louisiana Highway 308 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 Town ...

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

History

The name Lafourche is from the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

for "the fork", and alludes to the bayou's large outflow of Mississippi River water. The first settlements of Acadians in southern Louisiana were near Bayou Lafourche and Bayou des Écores, which led to a close association of the bayou with Cajun culture. It was formerly a Mississippi River 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 Donaldsonville (historically french: Lafourche-des-Chitimachas) is a city in, and the parish seat of Ascension Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located along the River Road of the west bank of the Mississippi River, it is a part of the Bat ...

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 Bollinger Shipyards is an American constructor of ships, workboats and patrol vessels. Its thirteen shipyards and forty drydocks are located in Louisiana and Texas. Its drydocks range in capacity from vessels of 100 tons displacement to 22,000 to ...

, founded by Donald G. Bollinger, was launched on Bayou Lafourche in 1946. On August 29, 2021, Hurricane Ida 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 from Donaldsonville to

Napoleonville Napoleonville is a village and the parish seat of Assumption Parish, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 660 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Pierre Part Micropolitan Statistical Area. The village is best known as the loca ...

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 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 it ...

): *

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 ''Figure ...

(Albert Street) in

* Union Pacific Railroad Livonia Subdivision in Donaldsonville *Rondinaud Road in Donaldsonville * LA 943 *

LA 998 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 ''Figure ...

at Belle Rose *

LA 70 Louisiana Highway 70 (LA 70) is a state highway in Louisiana that serves St. Mary, St. Martin, Assumption, and Ascension parishes. It is primarily a two-lane highway that spans . Route description LA 70 begins at an exit from U.S. Highway 90 in ...

* 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 t ...

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

*former Texas and Pacific Railway (now open to non-motorized traffic) * LA 1008 at

* LA 1010 at Ingleside * LA 1011 at Supreme * LA 1247 at

Labadieville Labadieville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Assumption Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,854 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Pierre Part Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Labadieville, originally called " ...

* 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 ...

/ Union Pacific Railroad

Lafayette Subdivision The Sunset Route is a main line of the Union Pacific Railroad running between Southern California and New Orleans, Louisiana. The name traces its origins to the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway, a Southern Pacific Railway subsidiar ...

at Lafourche *

LA 649 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 ''Figure ...

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

LA 182 Louisiana Highway 182 (LA 182) is a state highway located in central and southeastern Louisiana. It runs in a northwest to southeast direction from Louisiana Highway 29, LA 29 in Whiteville, Louisiana, Whiteville to U.S. Route 90 in Lo ...

( Raceland Lift Bridge) at Raceland * US 90 *former LA 364 * LA 654 ( Champagne-Harrelson Memorial Bridge) *

LA 655 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 ''Figure ...

(

Rita Bridge Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984) * Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962) * Rita (Japanese singer) * Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita Places * Djarrit, also known as Rita, a ...

) at Lockport * LA 3220 ( Bollinger Bridge) *

Valentine Bridge A valentine is a card or gift given on Valentine's Day, or one's sweetheart. Valentine or Valentines may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Valentine (name), a given name and a surname, including a list of people and fictional char ...

Valentine A valentine is a card or gift given on Valentine's Day, or one's sweetheart. Valentine or Valentines may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Valentine (name), a given name and a surname, including a list of people and fictional char ...

* T-Bois Bridge *Former

LA 310 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 ''Figure ...

Pontoon Bridge at Larose *

LA 657 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 Figure 8 ( ...

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) in

Golden Meadow Golden Meadow french: Canal Yankee is a town along Bayou Lafourche in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,761 in 2020. It is part of the Houma– Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area. Its mai ...

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

In popular culture

The film '' Southern Comfort'' is set on Bayou Lafourche. At the end of the novel '' Post Office'' by Charles Bukowski, protagonist Henry Chinaski quits his job at the Los Angeles post office to "pick up 10 or 20 grand for 3 months trapping at Bayou La Fourche. ..

Muskrat The muskrat (''Ondatra zibethicus'') is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habitat ...

s, nutria, 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 Network's supernatural-fantasy series, '' The Originals'', the Bayou Lafourche is a major setting and has acted as the home of the Werewolf encampments for decades after the Vampires exiled them from the city of New Orleans. 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