Atchafalaya River | |
---|---|
Etymology | Choctaw for "long river" |
Location | |
Country | United States |
State | Louisiana |
Parishes | |
City | Morgan City, Louisiana |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Mississippi River |
2nd source | Red River of the South |
Source confluence | Old River Control Structure |
Mouth | Atchafalaya Bay, Gulf of Mexico |
• coordinates | 29°28′46″N 91°16′25″W / 29.47938231°N 91.27371761°W |
Discharge | |
• location | Simmesport, Louisiana |
• average | 218,440 cu/ft. per sec.[1] |
The Atchafalaya River (/əˌtʃæf.əˈlaɪ.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]