Lake Salvador (french: Lac Salvador) 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 ...

about southwest of

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

, in

Jefferson Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...

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 ...

, 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 map of 1816 lists the lake as Ouacha Lake and other times it was spelled Ouachas Lake. Finally, on the Cram map of 1916, the lake was both Lake Ouache and Salvador. Lake Salvador is a shallow lake, with an average depth of about . It is mostly at sea level and measures about long and wide. The lake is fed by

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 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 ...

. Lake Salvador is surrounded by

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 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, and

red drum The red drum (''Sciaenops ocellatus''), also known as redfish, channel bass, puppy drum, spottail bass, or simply red, is a game fish found in the Atlantic Ocean from Massachusetts to Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to northern Mexi ...

. Young

bull shark The bull shark (''Carcharhinus leucas''), also known as the Zambezi shark (informally zambi) in Africa and Lake Nicaragua shark in Nicaragua, is a species of requiem shark commonly found worldwide in warm, shallow waters along coasts and in riv ...

s have been known to prefer low-salinity or brackish water, and in 2015 one was found in the lake. A

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) is a state agency of Louisiana that maintains state wildlife and fishery areas. The agency is headquartered in the capital city of Baton Rouge. Mission The Louisiana Department of Wildlife a ...

Marine Fisheries Biologist stated that bull sharks are one of the more aggressive shark species worldwide. Biologist manager Shane Granier stated, "It’s not necessarily a common occurrence, but it’s not unheard of o find sharks in the lake.St. Charles Herald Guide
Sharks found in Lake Salvador - Retrieved 2017-11-15

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lake Salvador Estuaries of Louisiana Salvador Bodies of water of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana Bodies of water of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana Bodies of water of St. Charles Parish, Louisiana Tourist attractions in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana

See also

References