Atchafalaya Basin

The Atchafalaya Basin comprises an area of 860,000 acres of swamps, lakes, and water prairies. Cutting a 15-mile-wide path along South Louisiana, it is the largest and last great river-basin swamp. But to fully comprehend and appreciate the magnificence of the Atchafalaya, you must journey back when the Atchafalaya was as nomadic as its people.

The Atchafalaya River Basin first began forming around 900 AD when the might Mississippi River abandoned its easternmost channel and flowed in that direction for approximately 1,000 years to occupy the present course of Bayou Lafourche. Over time, natural levees formed along the river to trap yearly overflow thus forming a lake within the middle bounded by a densely forested area.

The Basin has been an essential source of food, timber, and fur for Native Americans and for settlers of European and African descent. It served as a refuge for escaped slaves, and its resources attracted a number of Cajuns in the hard times that followed the Civil War.

Early development of the Atchafalaya Basin hinged on the Bayou Teche. Before roads, the little Teche, not the Atchafalaya, was the highway from the Gulf of Mexico into the heart of Louisiana. Amazingly the Teche was navigable over 100 miles, yet it was no wider than the length of a war canoe, no deeper than a man and no swifter than mud turtles that swam it.

The removal of timber is the oldest economic activity practiced in the Atchafalaya Basin. Cypress was the most important lumber product. Tupelo gum and various other trees were also exploited. The French soon found the value of cypress as a building material. They used the lumber for homes, out-buildings, fences, boats, and most wooden implements.

The Great Flood of 1927 drastically changed the life of the Basin from Simmesport in the upper Basin to Morgan City in the South. The flood triggered a mass exodus from communities like Bayou Chene, Sherburne, Atchafalaya, and Pelba where people once made their living from the swamp.

In an effort to control Mother Nature's plans of shortening the route of the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico via the Atchafalaya River, the US Army Corps of Engineers erected huge flood gates at the intersection of the two rivers. The five- mile-wide West Atchafalaya Floodway was created by the Corps of Engineers as an outlet for the raging water of the Red, Atchaflaya, and Mississippi rivers during the next great flood.

An abundance of wildlife can be found in the Basin. At least 300 species of birds, including thousands of wintering ducks and coots and the largest wintering population of American woodcock in North America. Over 50,000 egrets, ibises, and herons nest in the Floodway. The largest nesting concentration of bald eagles in the south central United States is found in the Atchafalaya Basin. The American alligator along with 54 other species of reptiles and amphibians can also be found. Over 90 species of fish, crawfish, crabs, and shrimp support an extremely active seafood industry.

With each new season, the Atchafalaya Swamp changes it face. Winter blows in isolation and despair as the frigid morning fog rolls across the basin swamp. Spring signals a rebirth as lush greens and vibrant purples reach forward to embrace its new season. Sunrise is the basin awakens its creatures as snakes slither and alligators and turtles bask in the sunlight. As the sun descends on another day, an eerie silence hangs on until the haunting cry of the egret penetrates the morning.

One of the traditional favorite Cajun pastimes is an old- fashioned crawfish boil.
When the sacred "mud bugs" or "crawdads" go into the pot a breath of excitement fills the air. Before the great feast of the boiled crawfish, potatoes, onions and corn, youngsters make a mad dash for the crawfish tub poking the live crawfish with sticks while other family members participate in crawfish races.
Boiling crawfish is not the only way to enjoy the crustaceans. When crawfish go into the pot a number of delicious dishes result because there are almost as many ways to cook crawfish as there are swamps, ponds and ditches in which to catch them. Crawfish are served up in gumbo, bisque, étouffée, jambalaya, pies or patties. When the Cajuns aren't eating crawfish, they enjoy other world famous cuisine of Louisiana such as oysters, shrimp, boudin, pralines, gumbo and red beans and rice.


What better way to experience Cajun food than at a festival? Any time is festival time in Cajun Country. Towns and villages throughout Acadiana celebrate every season with their special blend of music, food and the colorful Cajun heritage. Most festivals feature live music of all sorts, contests, native crafts and food and, of course, dancing. Cajun music is also distinctive. It can be lively or melancholy, and sometimes both at the same time. The main reason why many attend festivals is for the unique Cajun music. Cajun music, once deemed as "nothing but chank-a-chank" has infiltrated radio, television and classrooms and is becoming world famous for its unique sounds of instruments like accordions, fiddles and triangles.

In Cajun Country, a week hardly goes by without chants of praise to crawfish, rice, alligators, cotton, boudin, yams, gumbo and andouille, all the necessities of bayou life. Within the triangle of Acadiana's 22 parishes, you'll experience the "joie de vivre" of the Cajun lifestyle. Whether in food, music or fun, the Cajun tradition continues to live on in the hearts of Cajuns and visitors alike.