Butte La Rose in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana — The American South (West South Central)
Atchafalaya River
Butte La Rose Boat Landing
— Atchafalaya Water Heritage Trail —
February 16, 2018
1. Atchafalaya River Marker
Inscription.
Atchafalaya River. Butte La Rose Boat Landing. , The Atchafalaya River is North America’s fifth-largest river according to discharge and, together with the Mississippi, accounts for about 90 percent of the freshwater discharge into the Gulf of Mexico.
The Atchafalaya River is North America’s fifth-largest river according to discharge. It releases an average of about 230,000 cubic feet of water every second. This river is also the major distributary of the Mississippi, carrying about a third of the combined flow of the Red and Mississippi rivers at Old River. Together, the Atchafalaya and Mississippi rivers account for about 90 percent of the freshwater discharge into the Gulf of Mexico.
The Mississippi has changed course several times since the last ice age. This natural adjustment typically takes about 100 years to complete and happens when one of the river’s distributaries becomes hydraulically more efficient by offering a shorter, steeper route to the Gulf. Because the Atchafalaya River is currently the quickest route to the Gulf, the Mississippi has been trying to switch to this channel since the late 1800s. At first the Atchafalaya captured only a small, sporadic flow of water that occasionally reversed directions. But through a combination of natural and man-made events, the flow capture increased until it reached about 30 percent by 1960. In 1963, the Old River Control Structure near Simmesport was built to prevent even more water from leaving the Mississippi channel to follow the Atchafalaya. If not for human engineering and river control, today visitors would likely see the Mississippi from these banks instead of the Atchafalaya.
Due to its proximity on the Atchafalaya, this area has historically been an important site for transportation and commerce. In the spring of 1863, an important Civil War battle took place at the former site of Fort Burton, located directly across from the boat landing on the river’s eastern shore. In Butte La Rose’s early days as a settlement, residents traveled by skiffs and boats to nearby towns, and a boat bus brought students to and from school. Today, the town is the only Atchafalaya Basin community still located within the Basin levees. Access to this isolated area is now facilitated by the Butte La Rose Interstate 10 exit and local roads, but residents remain closely tied to the Atchafalaya River and the swamps through which it flows. And even though the town is positioned on a high bank along the river, it is not immune from flooding during high water events. The Atchafalaya’s flood stage above Butte La Rose is 20 feet, compared to 47 feet upriver in Simmesport. The river stage at Butte La Rose has become an indicator of the current water level in the floodway, although increased sedimentation in the old Atchafalaya River segment no longer accurately represents stages in the isolated swamps to the south.
Visit Atchafalaya.org for more information about this site.
This site’s geology/geomorphology: Holocene crevasse splay deposits of the Atchafalaya River.
The Atchafalaya River is North America’s fifth-largest river according to discharge and, together with the Mississippi, accounts for about 90 percent of the freshwater discharge into the Gulf of Mexico.
The Atchafalaya River is North America’s fifth-largest river according to discharge. It releases an average of about 230,000 cubic feet of water every second. This river is also the major distributary of the Mississippi, carrying about a third of the combined flow of the Red and Mississippi rivers at Old River. Together, the Atchafalaya and Mississippi rivers account for about 90 percent of the freshwater discharge into the Gulf of Mexico.
The Mississippi has changed course several times since the last ice age. This natural adjustment typically takes about 100 years to complete and happens when one of the river’s distributaries becomes hydraulically more efficient by offering a shorter, steeper route to the Gulf. Because the Atchafalaya River is currently the quickest route to the Gulf, the Mississippi has been trying to switch to this channel since the late 1800s. At first the Atchafalaya captured only a small, sporadic flow of water that occasionally reversed directions. But through a combination of natural and man-made events, the flow capture increased until it reached about 30 percent by 1960. In 1963, the Old
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River Control Structure near Simmesport was built to prevent even more water from leaving the Mississippi channel to follow the Atchafalaya. If not for human engineering and river control, today visitors would likely see the Mississippi from these banks instead of the Atchafalaya.
Due to its proximity on the Atchafalaya, this area has historically been an important site for transportation and commerce. In the spring of 1863, an important Civil War battle took place at the former site of Fort Burton, located directly across from the boat landing on the river’s eastern shore. In Butte La Rose’s early days as a settlement, residents traveled by skiffs and boats to nearby towns, and a boat bus brought students to and from school. Today, the town is the only Atchafalaya Basin community still located within the Basin levees. Access to this isolated area is now facilitated by the Butte La Rose Interstate 10 exit and local roads, but residents remain closely tied to the Atchafalaya River and the swamps through which it flows. And even though the town is positioned on a high bank along the river, it is not immune from flooding during high water events. The Atchafalaya’s flood stage above Butte La Rose is 20 feet, compared to 47 feet upriver in Simmesport. The river stage at Butte La Rose has become an indicator of the current water level in the floodway, although increased sedimentation
February 16, 2018
2. Atchafalaya River Marker
in the old Atchafalaya River segment no longer accurately represents stages in the isolated swamps to the south.
Visit Atchafalaya.org for more information about this site.
This site’s geology/geomorphology: Holocene crevasse splay deposits of the Atchafalaya River.
Erected by State of Louisiana and National Park Service.
Location. 30° 16.803′ N, 91° 41.156′ W. Marker is in Butte La Rose, Louisiana, in St. Martin Parish. Marker is on Herman Dupis Road near Atchafalaya River Parkway (State Highway 3177), on the right. At the boat launch terminus of Herman Dupis Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1715 Herman Dupuis Road, Breaux Bridge LA 70517, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 19, 2018. It was originally submitted on February 19, 2018, by Cajun Scrambler of Assumption, Louisiana. This page has been viewed 349 times since then and 29 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on February 19, 2018.
