Glossary

aboriginal – inhabiting or existing in a land from the earliest times or from before the arrival of colonists
Acadians – descendants of French colonists who settled in Acadie (a colony of New France in northeastern North America in what is now eastern Canada) during the 17th and 18th centuries; many Acadians were deported during the Grand Dérangement (“great expulsion”) to various American colonies and some migrated to present day Louisiana, where they developed what became known as Cajun culture
alluvial soil – soil deposited by water
Atchafalaya – combination of Choctaw words “hacha” and “falaya,” meaning “long river”
Atchafalaya Basin – largest river swamp in the U.S., containing almost one million acres of bottomland hardwoods, swamps, bayous and backwater lakes
Atchafalaya National Heritage Area – 14-parish region in south-central Louisiana designated by Congress in 2006 as an area with significant natural, cultural and historical resources

backswamp area – the section of a floodplain where deposits of fine silts and clays settle after a flood - Backswamps usually lie behind a stream's natural levees
backwater flooding – upstream flooding caused by a restriction or blocking of flow downstream
bald cypress – a deciduous North American conifer tree with exposed buttress roots and ball-shaped cones, typically growing in swamps and on water margins
barrier islands– an island that provides some protection from storm surge
bayou – a marshy outlet of a lake or river?
brackish water – water that has more salinity than fresh water, but not as much as seawater
bluff – a steep cliff, bank or point of high land that juts out next to a body of water
bluff lake – a type of lake that forms in areas between the bayou bank and the higher bank that runs along the edge of a river’s drainage area (ex. Spanish Lake)
bousillage – a mixture of clay earth and Spanish moss used in French Louisiana by colonists in the 18^th to 19^th centuries to help insulate buildings?

cfs (“Cubic feet per second”) – measurement for river flow – ex. Mississippi River’s average flow is 470,000 cfs
chenier – a beach ridge usually composed of sand-sized material resting on clay or mud – chenier is the Louisiana French term for the oak tree belts that mark the distribution of the ridges in the Mississippi Delta region
Chitimacha – American Indian tribe that still occupies some of its original land in areas of the Atchafalaya Basin, primarily on their reservation in St. Mary Parish
confluence – the junction or meeting of two rivers
convergence – a location where airflows or ocean currents meet
conveyance canal – a permanent waterway designed to convey stormwater runoff?
coulee – a gully or ravine usually dry or intermittent but becoming sizable during rainy weather
crevasse – a breach (break) in the embankment of a river or canal
crevasse splay channels – an alluvial outspread deposit formed where an overloaded stream breaks through a levee (artificial or natural) and deposits its material (often coarse-grained) on the floodplain
curvilinear – consisting of or bounded by curved lines
cypress knees – the cone-shaped exposed growths on the buttress roots of a bald cypress tree
cypress (old-growth) – Cypress trees predating the era of heavy harvesting that took place between 1870 and 1920

dam – a barrier constructed to hold back water and raise its level – the resulting reservoir is usually used in the generation of electricity or as a water supply
delta – a triangular tract of sediment deposited at the mouth of a river, typically where it diverges into several outlets
delta cycle – a dynamic process whereby a river deposits sediment at its outfall, growing a delta lobe and eventually, seeking a shorter path to the sea, abandons its previous course and associated delta
delta-building – the building of land from sediments deposited by the flow of a sediment-rich river as it enters an open bay
deltaic – pertaining to or like a delta
distributary – a branch of a river that does not return to the main stream after leaving it
dredge – to deepen (a waterway) with a machine that removes earth usually by buckets on an endless chain or a suction tube

escarpment – bluff-like shelf that divides an area into floodplain and prairie?
ecosystem – a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment
estuarine bay – a partly enclosed body of water along the coast where one or more streams or rivers enter and mix freshwater with seawater

flatboat – a cargo boat with a flat bottom for use in shallow water; this type of boat could only travel downstream and was usually taken apart and sold for lumber upon reaching its final destination
floodplain – an area of low-lying ground adjacent to a river, formed mainly of river sediments and subject to flooding
floodway/spillway – a channel or passage for floodwaters of a river
flood stage – the level at which a body of water’s surface has risen to a sufficient level to cause inundation of areas not normally covered by water

geomorphology – the study of the physical features of the surface of the earth and their relation to its geological structures
Gulf Intracoastal Waterway – the portion of the Intracoastal Waterway located along the Gulf Coast
gully – a trench that was originally worn in the earth by running water and through which water often runs after rains

headwaters – a tributary stream of a river close to or forming part of its source

keel-boat – a long, slender cargo riverboat propelled by oars and setting poles; could be maneuvered both downstream and upstream (though difficult to move in this direction)

Laurentide Ice Sheet – ended with last ice age about 11,700 years ago
levee – an embankment built to prevent the overflow of a river
lock – a short, confined section of a canal or other waterway in which the water level can be changed – used for raising and lowering vessels between two gates
loess – wind-blown silt

marsh – an area of low-lying land that is flooded in wet seasons or at high tide and typically remains waterlogged at all times
mast – the edible vegetative or reproductive part produced by woody species of plants (ex. trees and shrubs) that wildlife species and some domestic animals consume
meander – a bend in a river – a meander forms when moving water in a stream erodes the outer banks and widens its valley – the inner part of the river has less energy and deposits silt – this process results in a snaking pattern
Mississippi River – the largest river in the U.S.

natural levee – a ridge of sediment deposited naturally alongside a river by overflowing water

oxbow lake – a horse-shoe-shaped bend formed when a meander of a river gets cut off from the main stream

packet boat – a small boat designed for domestic mail, passenger or freight transportation in European colonies and their colonies, including North American rivers and canals – used extensively during the 18^th and 19^th centuries
parent soil – soils that have inherent structure and minerals from underlying geologic material
pirogue – a long narrow canoe made from a single tree trunk
Pleistocene terrace –
pontoon bridge – a floating barge connected by a pivot arm to a fixed point along the shoreline – a mechanical system swings the bridge to the riverbank when the channel is open to boat traffic. When closed, cars can drive over the bridge.
portage – to carry a boat or its cargo between two navigable waters

raft/logjam – a flat buoyant structure of timber – in the case of the Red River, massive rafts (logjams) developed and were so thick that they acted as bridges for pedestrians crossing?
ravine – a landform narrower than a canyon and often the product of stream-cutting erosion
relict – a thing that has survived from an earlier period or in a primitive form (ex. Bayou Teche is a relict channel of the Mississippi River)
river swamp – area of waterlogged land adjoining a river (ex. The Atchafalaya Basin is the largest river swamp in the U.S.)
rookery – a breeding colony of rooks, typically seen as a collection of nests high in a clump of trees

salt dome – a dome-shaped structure in sedimentary rocks, formed when a large mass of salt has been forced upward – these structures often form traps for oil or natural gas
sedimentation – the process of settling or being deposited as sediment (ex. when rivers carry sediment and gradually build land)
shallow draft vessel – a boat or ship with a keel which is not far below the waterline
shoals – natural submerged ridges, banks or bars
skidder canals – radial canals through the swamps where loggers used massive winches to pull trees to a central loading point
slough – a wetland, usually a swamp or shallow lake, often a backwater to a larger body of water
Spanish moss – a tropical American plant that grows as silvery-green festoons on trees, obtaining water and nutrients directly through its surface
stagnation – the state of not flowing or moving
steamboat – a boat propelled by a steam engine, especially a paddle-wheel craft used widely on rivers in the 19^th century
storm surge – a rising of the sea as a result of atmospheric pressure changes and wind associated with a storm
subsidence – the gradual caving in or sinking of an area of land
swamp – an area of low-lying, uncultivated ground where water collects; a bog or marsh

tidal marshes and lagoons – (ex. Lake Hatch – in the middle of Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge)
topography – the arrangement of the natural and artificial physical features of an area
tributary – a river or stream flowing into a larger river or lake
Turnbull’s Bend – when a meander of the Mississippi River intercepted the Red River, turning it into a tributary and eventually leading to the creation of the Atchafalaya River as a distributary

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – a U.S. federal agency charged with delivering public and military engineering services. It is involved in a wide range of projects to strengthen U.S. security, energize the economy and reduce risks from disasters. Known in Louisiana for dams, canals and flood protection

watershed – an area or ridge of land that separates waters flowing to different rivers, basins or seas – Ex. the Atchafalaya River watershed
wetland – land consisting of marshes or swamps; saturated land
Works Progress Administration – WPA; renamed in 1939 as Work Projects Administration – employed millions of people to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads

bird in swamp