A Louisiana swamp question (Baton Rouge, Lafayette: house, gated, live in)

[linicx]

Help me out here. I like to know two things. First is the bayou the same as a swamp. If not, what is the difference. Where exactly is the swamp area and how large is it? I had a chance to take a tour but I turned it down. It was raining and it too expensive for my budget. Thanks.

[LSU Tiger Z71]

Extremely similar. Usually characterized by moss, cypress trees, muddy water, crocodiles, pelicans, etc.

Bayous tend to be larger body of water that can be navigated, like lakes, which feature similar features to a swamp. It can get deep and run into larger rivers, etc. e.g., Lake Darbonne in Farmerville is referred to as a Bayou after the dam and most specifically the more wooded areas (runoff leading to the NWA/Ouachita river) You can see the swamp characteristics here.

Swamps tend to be very muddy, less water and harder to navigate. A wide area and very humid and full of alligator, snake, mosquitos, pelicans, doves, moss, etc. It covers a very large area and not all of the swamp can be reached by boat. See: Atchfalalaya in LA, and Everglades.

Swamps tend to be less structured

[MetroBTR]

A bayou is basically a stream with very slow moving water. Sometimes If a swampy area extends for any distance beyond the banks of the bayou or a lake, this area will collectively be referred to as the "bayou". But my personal definition is the former. I consider a swamp any largely forested area that is submerged annually or in some cases year-around. If you travel Interstate 10 between Lafayette and Baton Rouge, the highway passes over the Atchafalaya swamp.

[LSU Tiger Z71]

Originally Posted by MetroBTR

A bayou is basically a stream with very slow moving water. Sometimes If a swampy area extends for any distance beyond the banks of the bayou or a lake, this area will collectively be referred to as the "bayou". But my personal definition is the former. I consider a swamp any largely forested area that is submerged annually or in some cases year-around. If you travel Interstate 10 between Lafayette and Baton Rouge, the highway passes over the Atchafalaya swamp.

Well done.

[sailordave]

If you're a nature lover/photographer you should have taken the swamp tour. There are some beautiful sights in the swamp. Depending on the time of the year, there are some breath taking flowers growing in the area. A wide range of species of birds live in the swamp because of it's abundant supply of food (insects, fish, nector). One of the most beautiful sights is in the early morning hours just before the sun rises and a low fog hangs over the water in layers. As the orange glow increases, it highlights the layers of fog in a glow and you see the moss covered cyprus trees.

[linicx]

Hey All ....

Thanks so very much. I used to watch Justin Wilson when he was on PBS cooking. He talked about BR and bayou and alligators and the history of the area, Every once in a while he would say a few words in Cajun or French to confuse the rest of us. He used so much hot sauce, to this day I have never tasted Cajun food. I spent a week on the Gulf and never wanted to leave.

Linicx

[Innotech]

Bayous arent necessarily that large. there is a bayou on the northside of Lafayette near where my parents live, but its only about 100 feet across, if that. Swampland varies in size, but generally covers much larger areas in the state. the Atchafalaya basin is mainly a swamp, but a bayou makes up part of it.

[hank0604]

Well the dictionary definitions are something along the lines of:

Bayou: a body of water that is river like in nature, but generally shallower and the water movement is slower.

Swamp: a seasonally flooded area with dense vegetation. the woodland equivalent of a prairie bog.

The key to a swamp is that is seasonally flooded. So, for instance, a bayou could spill its banks during the spring and create a swamp, so long as the flooded area drained itself at some point in the future. Otherwise, if it stays flooded year round, I would call it a wetland/marsh

The term "bayou" is much more widely used and loosely defined. Just about any river/stream/ditch in Louisiana that is not already named in another state is called "Bayou Something-or-other." I've seen bayous anywhere from 2 feet across to 30-40 feet across with depths more than 20 feet.

[redbean]

Linicx... please come for a visit! I'd recommend waiting till October or November, that's when the temperatures are more tolerable. We'd love to show you around!

[Rosinante]

Originally Posted by hank0604

I've seen bayous anywhere from 2 feet across to 30-40 feet across with depths more than 20 feet.

The one out back of the house would be called a creek in a lot of states, but our neighbors know it's a bayou (and it's also shown on maps as a bayou). It dries up completely during summer droughts, but I've seen it as deep as 10 - 15 feet after hurricanes.

What part of Illinois do you live in, linicx?