Bayou Teche | |
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![]() Bayou Teche at its intersection with the Wax Lake outlet of the Atchafalaya River in St Mary Parish, Louisiana. The bayou runs bottom–top in the picture. View is to the west-northwest. | |
![]() Bayou Teche | |
Location | |
Country | United States |
States | Louisiana |
Parishes | |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Bayou Courtableu at Port Barre, St. Landry Parish |
• coordinates | 30°33′36″N 91°57′25″W / 30.560°N 91.957°W |
Mouth | |
• location | Lower Atchafalaya River near Patterson, St. Mary Parish |
• coordinates | 29°43′08″N 91°20′02″W / 29.719°N 91.334°W |
Length | 125 miles (201 km) |
Basin features | |
Cities |
Bayou Teche (Louisiana French: Bayou Têche) is a 125-mile-long (201 km)[1] waterway in south central Louisiana in the United States. Bayou Teche was the Mississippi River's main course when it developed a delta about 2,800 to 4,500 years ago. Through a natural process known as deltaic switching, the river's deposits of silt and sediment cause the Mississippi to change its course every thousand years or so.