Bayou Teche

Bayou Teche
Bayou Teche at its intersection with the Wax Lake outlet of the Atchafalaya River in St Mary Parish, Louisiana. The bayou runs bottom–top in the picture. View is to the west-northwest.
Map
Bayou Teche
Location
CountryUnited States
StatesLouisiana
Parishes
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationBayou Courtableu at Port Barre, St. Landry Parish
 • coordinates30°33′36″N 91°57′25″W / 30.560°N 91.957°W / 30.560; -91.957
Mouth 
 • location
Lower Atchafalaya River near Patterson, St. Mary Parish
 • coordinates
29°43′08″N 91°20′02″W / 29.719°N 91.334°W / 29.719; -91.334
Length125 miles (201 km)
Basin features
Cities

Bayou Teche (Louisiana French: Bayou Têche) is a 125-mile-long (201 km)[1] waterway in south central Louisiana in the United States. Bayou Teche was the Mississippi River's main course when it developed a delta about 2,800 to 4,500 years ago. Through a natural process known as deltaic switching, the river's deposits of silt and sediment cause the Mississippi to change its course every thousand years or so.

  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed June 20, 2011