Ponchatoula Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed June 20, 2011 tributary of the Natalbany River in Tangipahoa Parish,

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 ...

. The two waterways join where a section of the Natalbany forms the boundary between Tangipahoa Parish and

Livingston Parish Livingston Parish (Louisiana French: ''La Paroisse Livingston'') is a parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its parish seat is the town of Livingston. Livingston Parish is one of the Florida Parishes, a region which, unlike the rest of the sta ...

. Ponchatoula Creek originates west of Old US Highway 51, north of

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

. The creek is entirely within Tangipahoa Parish.

Path

Ponchatoula Creek's

cardinal direction The four cardinal directions, or cardinal points, are the four main compass directions: north, east, south, and west, commonly denoted by their initials N, E, S, and W respectively. Relative to north, the directions east, south, and west are at ...

is southwest (or south and west) as it meanders south around the west side of Independence and Tickfaw, and even southeast through Natalbany and the northeastern quadrant of

Hammond Hammond may refer to: People * Hammond Innes (1913–1998), English novelist * Hammond (surname) * Justice Hammond (disambiguation) Places Antarctica * Hammond Glacier, Antarctica Australia *Hammond, South Australia, a small settlement in South ...

, thence westward between Hammond and the city of Ponchatoula, and then south and west to join the Natalbany River between

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

and Lake Maurepas. Ponchatoula Creek is bridged by LA 40,

LA 1063 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 ...

, LA 442,

US 51 U.S. Route 51 or U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) is a major south-north United States highway that extends from the western suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana, to within of the Wisconsin–Michigan state line. As most of the United States Numbered Highw ...

LA 1064 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 ...

(Natalbany Road), North Oak Street,

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

LA 3234 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 ...

(University Avenue),

LA 1065 Louisiana Highway 1065 (LA 1065) is a mostly rural highway in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana between Hammond and Independence. In its more trafficked southern end it is known as North Cherry Street and outside Hammond, North Cherry Street Extension. ...

(North Cherry Street), US 190,

Business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...

, I-55 (in its concurrency with US 51), and

LA 22 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 ...

before emptying into the Natalbany River southwest of Ponchatoula. One tributary forms part of the northern perimeter of Southeastern Louisiana University's main campus, and another tributary flows under the campus in a tunnel starting on the south side of

near the Southeastern University Center.

Role

Native Americans found Ponchatoula Creek an earthly

happy hunting ground The happy hunting ground is a concept of the afterlife associated with Native Americans in the United States. The phrase most likely originated with Anglo-Saxon settlers' interpretation of the Indian description. History The phrase first appears ...

, as even in the 21st century arrowheads are still occasionally found along the historic creek bed, a sign that

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

frequented the stream. Peter av Hammerdal (Peter Hammond), eponym of

Hammond, Louisiana Hammond is the largest city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States, located east of Baton Rouge and northwest of New Orleans. Its population was 20,019 in the 2010 U.S. census, and 21,359 at the 2020 population estimates program. Ham ...

, settled along the Ponchatoula Creek in the early 19th century and used the stream for agricultural and logistical purposes as he supplied wood products to ocean-going vessels in

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

. In modern times the chief use of Ponchatoula Creek is drainage, with much of its channel widened, deepened, and straightened by

dredging 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 ...

. These practical enhancements to Ponchatoula Creek have reduced its scenic quality but greatly improved its efficiency and effectiveness in eliminating flooding. The tunnel under Southeastern's campus is throughout taller than the average man. Ponchatoula Creek is eponymous with Ponchatoula, Louisiana, USS ''Ponchatoula'' (AOG 38), USS ''Ponchatoula'' (AO 148), and

Ponchatoula High School Ponchatoula High School is a public high school in unincorporated Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States, near Ponchatoula. It is operated by the Tangipahoa Parish School System. Ponchatoula High School is one of the largest high schools in ...

. For etymology of the name "Ponchatoula" see Ponchatoula history.

Fauna

Ponchatoula Creek forms a habitat for the

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

''Ctenopharyngodon idella'', a grass carp fish also known as

white amur The grass carp (''Ctenopharyngodon idella'') is a species of large herbivorous freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae, native to the Pacific Far East, with a native range stretching from northern Vietnam to the Amur River on the Sino-Russian ...

, which was imported to the US in 1963 from

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, and is often stocked to control vegetation.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ponchatoula Creek Rivers of Louisiana Southeastern Louisiana University Rivers of Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana Tourist attractions in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana