Atchafalaya River

Atchafalaya River
Atchafalaya River delta on the Gulf of Mexico; view upriver to the northwest.
Map
Atchafalaya River
EtymologyChoctaw for "long river"
Location
CountryUnited States
StateLouisiana
Parishes
CityMorgan City, Louisiana
Physical characteristics
SourceMississippi River
2nd sourceRed River of the South
Source confluenceOld River Control Structure
MouthAtchafalaya Bay, Gulf of Mexico
 • coordinates
29°28′46″N 91°16′25″W / 29.47938231°N 91.27371761°W / 29.47938231; -91.27371761
Discharge 
 • locationSimmesport, Louisiana
 • average218,440 cu/ft. per sec.[1]

The Atchafalaya River (/əˌæf.əˈl.ə/[2] French: La Rivière Atchafalaya, Spanish: Río Atchafalaya) is a 137-mile-long (220 km)[3] distributary of the Mississippi River and Red River in south central Louisiana in the United States. It flows south, just west of the Mississippi River,[4] and is the fifth largest river in North America, by discharge.[5] The name Atchafalaya comes from Choctaw for 'long river', from hachcha, 'river', and falaya, 'long'.[6]

  1. ^ "USGS Surface-Water Annual Statistics for Louisiana". United States Geological Survey.
  2. ^ Collins, Andrew (2007). Moon Handbooks New Orleans: Including Cajun Country. p. 324. ISBN 9781566919319.
  3. ^ "National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data". United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
  4. ^ Atchafalaya River Navigation Book. United States Army Corps of Engineers. October 2010. Archived from the original on 27 February 2013.
  5. ^ Piazza, Bryan P. (2014). The Atchafalaya River Basin: History and Ecology of an American Wetland. Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 978-1-62349-039-3.
  6. ^ Bright, William (2004). Native American placenames of the United States. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-8061-3598-4.