Lake Dauterive
1,000 Year-Old Cypress
| | Atchafalaya Water Heritage Trail | |
Lake Dauterive is home to one of the oldest documented cypress trees in Louisiana. The approximately 1,000-year-old tree has a circumference of 17 feet and a diameter of 5.4 feet.
Though named as two separate lakes, Lake Dauterive and Lake Fausse Pointe function as one natural body of water. Lake Dauterive (located north of Lake Fausse Pointe) is just west of Bayou Chene and drains south into Lake Fausse Pointe. It was cut off from the Atchafalaya River when the Atchafalaya Basin levees were built in the 1930s. Today the lake receives runoff from surrounding lands and is relatively shallow, with depths ranging from nine or 10 feet at its deepest point to a mere 18 inches in areas of high sedimentation.
This lake is home to an approximately 1,000-year-old cypress tree—one of the oldest documented in Louisiana. This tree has a circumference of 17 feet and a diameter of 5.4 feet. It is among a group of old growth cypress that was not harvested between 1870 and 1920, when loggers clear-cut many ancient cypress groves throughout south Louisiana. The trees age was estimated from core density of samples taken from its exterior.
In their native habitat, bald cypress trees display a peculiar habit of raising conical "knees" from their roots. The function of these growths is still a mystery, although some believe it is a way to help the roots get oxygen or to provide stability for the tree. Unlike most conifers—which are evergreens—the bald cypress is deciduous, meaning it loses its needles in the fall. This gives the tree a “bald” appearance part of the year. An icon in southern swamps, the bald cypress is Louisianas State Tree.
Lake Dauterive was named after A. B. Dauterive, a prominent planter who owned St. Rose de Lima Plantation (later named Caroline Plantation), once located at the lake. The Dauterive family was French and of noble descent. Their name was formerly spelled “D'Hauterive,” and early accounts of the 1862 Confederate Camp Dauterive refer to the area as “deHuitreve” or “doctrive.”
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This sites geology/geomorphology: Holocene backswamp deposits of Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers.
Erected by State
this page online
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Atchafalaya Water Heritage Trail series list.
Location. 30° 6.101′ N, 91° 37.638′ W. Marker is in Coteau Holmes, Louisiana, in St. Martin Parish. It is on Bayou Benoit Road (State Road 169) 4.3 miles south of Bayou Alexander Highway (State Highway 3083), on the left when traveling south. Located at the Bayou Benoit Boat Launch. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4233 Bayou Benoit Levee Road, Saint Martinville LA 70582, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Louisiana’s Acadiana Cajun Country and specifically in Bayou Country. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and on the Gulf Coast. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, Acadia, the territory of the Mississippian Culture,
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 11 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Lake Fausse Pointe (approx. 2.9 miles away); Alligators! (approx. 3.1 miles away); Loreauville Memorial (approx. 7.4 miles away); New Acadia / Nouvelle Acadie (approx. 7.4 miles away); Fausse Point of Bayou Teche / Fausse-Pointe du Bayou Tθche (approx. 7.4 miles away); The Grand Dιrangement / Le Grand Dιrangement (approx. 7.4 miles away); Welcome to Loreauville (approx. 7.4 miles away); Oak and Pine Alley (approx. 10.4 miles away).
More about this marker. Marker is on left traveling south, across the levee. This site IS under water during high water events.
Credits. This page was last revised on May 30, 2022. It was originally submitted on July 31, 2018, by Cajun Scrambler of Assumption, Louisiana. This page has been viewed 2,332 times since then and 160 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on July 31, 2018. 2. submitted on July 31, 2018, by Cajun Scrambler of Assumption, Louisiana.
