Atchafalaya River

Atchafalaya River
Atchafalaya River
	Atchafalaya River delta on the Gulf of Mexico; view upriver to the northwest.
	Atchafalaya River
Etymology	Choctaw for "long river"
Location
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Parishes	Avoyelles; Pointe Coupee; St. Landry; St. Martin; Iberville; Iberia; St. Mary; Terrebonne;
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.

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]

^ "USGS Surface-Water Annual Statistics for Louisiana". United States Geological Survey.
^ Collins, Andrew (2007). Moon Handbooks New Orleans: Including Cajun Country. p. 324. ISBN 9781566919319.
^ "National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data". United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
^ Atchafalaya River Navigation Book. United States Army Corps of Engineers. October 2010. Archived from the original on 27 February 2013.
^ 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.
^ Bright, William (2004). Native American placenames of the United States. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-8061-3598-4.

[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.

[NHD-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.

[Piazza2014-5] 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.

[Bright2004-6] Bright, William (2004). Native American placenames of the United States. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-8061-3598-4.

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