Mermentau River

Mermentau River
Map of the Mermentau River watershed showing the Mermantau River and its 4 largest tributaries (from left to right) Bayou Nezpique, Bayou des Cannes, Bayou Plaquemine Brule, and Bayou Queue de Tortue.

The Mermentau River is a 72.3-mile-long (116.4 km)[1] river in southern Louisiana in the United States. It enters the Gulf of Mexico between Calcasieu Lake and Vermilion Bay on the Chenier Coastal Plain.[2]

The Mermentau River supplies freshwater for the Mermentau Basin. The Chenier Basin is located between the Mermentau Basin and the Gulf of Mexico, and is unique in that it no longer contains any true estuarine Gulf habitat, although historically the basin served as a productive estuarine nursery ground. Freshwater inflow is from the Catfish Point control structure. Presently, several large freshwater lakes (Grand Lake, White Lake) and confined wetlands dominate the region. These habitats are confined within the mainland and isolated from the influence of saltwater by a series of water control structures or locks.[2]

A significant percentage of the basin lands are publicly owned as Federal refuges and State wildlife management areas.[3] Pirate Jean Laffite is rumored to have sailed into the area during the 19th century, possibly stashing gold treasure.[4]

Early in the 20th century W. Scott Heywood of Jennings began operating barges on the river to carry oil, which he discovered in 1901, to the railroad. In 1932, Heywood was elected to the Louisiana State Senate from a large district encompassing much of southwestern Louisiana.[5]

Landmarks

The Mermentau River contains the infamous "Negro Island" (also known as "Skull Island") situated near the tiny village of Grand Chenier in extreme southeastern Cameron Parish. In March 1867, John W. Sweeney, Jr., found "countless skulls, skeletons, and leg bones, each of the latter still shackled by a rusting leg iron to the skeleton lying beside it." Since the Civil War had recently ended, slave captains knew that if a slave ship were caught with Africans aboard, the slaver captain would be tried for violating the 1820 U.S. Law on Slave Trade, the penalty of which was a charge of piracy and death by hanging. Without a doubt the shackled and starving Africans on Skull Island died quickly. Researchers believe this human cargo could possibly be the missing slaves from the topsail hermaphrodite schooner the Huntress. This schooner was the last slave ship which left the Congo region of Africa in March 1865 with a capacity of 200 slaves.[6]

References

  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed June 20, 2011
  2. ^ a b GulfBase - Mermentau River
  3. ^ d
  4. ^ Two Treasure Sites of Imperial Calcasieu Parish
  5. ^ "Heywood, Walter Scott". Louisiana Historical Association, A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography. http://www.lahistory.org/site25.php. Retrieved January 30, 2011. 
  6. ^ Skull Island on Mermentau River



Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Mermentau, Louisiana — Coordinates: 30°11′16″N 92°34′58″W / 30.18778°N 92.58278°W / 30.18778; 92.58278 …   Wikipedia

  • Schooner Bayou Control Structure — The Schooner Bayou Control Structure is a flood control structure located in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It is part of the Mississippi Valley Division, New Orleans District, which encompasses the …   Wikipedia

  • List of rivers of Louisiana — List of rivers in Louisiana (U.S. state).By Drainage BasinThis list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream s name.Gulf of MexicoPearl River*Pearl River **Bogue Chitto RiverLake Pontchartrain… …   Wikipedia

  • Atakapa people — Atakapa Ishak An Attakapas, by Alexandre De Batz, 1735 Total population …   Wikipedia

  • Bayou Nezpique — (pronounced neh PEE kay , translated to tattooed nose bayou [1]) is a small river located in the Mermentau River basin of south Louisiana, USA. The bayou is 70 miles (110 km) long and is navigable by small shallow draft boats for 23 miles… …   Wikipedia

  • Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana — Location in the state of Louisiana …   Wikipedia

  • The Huntress (ship) — The Huntress of New York was a topsail hermaphrodite schooner which transported slaves. The Huntress was the last slave schooner to leave the Congo region.In March 1865, The Huntress left with a capacity of 200 slaves headed for Louisiana. [… …   Wikipedia

  • Water Resources Development Act of 1976 — Water Resources Development Act of 1976, (WRDA 1976), USPL|94|587 is a public law enacted on October 22, 1976 by the Congress of the United States of America concerning various water resources and projects. [ [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi… …   Wikipedia

  • USS Rachel Seaman (1861) — USS Rachel Seaman was a wooden schooner purchased by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Rachel Seaman was armed as a gunboat and assigned to the Union blockade of the ports and waterways of the Confederate States of America. She also… …   Wikipedia

  • Gueydan, Louisiana — Geobox Town name = Town of Gueydan native name = other name = other name1 = category = Town image size = image caption = flag size = symbol = symbol size = symbol type = nickname = motto = country = United States state = Louisiana region =… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”