Atchafalaya Basin

As soon as many visitors see one of our beautiful brown "Atchafalaya National Heritage Area" signs on the interstate or while driving one of Louisiana`s many scenic byways, they start to wonder what a national heritage area is. And Louisianians ask why an "Atchafalaya" sign exists outside of the area they know fondly as the Atchafalaya Basin. Luckily for you, we`re happy to explain why!

The Atchafalaya Basin is America`s largest river swamp, containing almost one million acres of America`s most significant bottomland hardwoods, swamps, bayous and backwater lakes. It begins near Simmesport, La., and stretches 140 miles southward to the Gulf of Mexico. Currently, it is bound by natural ridges formed by levees built along active and abandoned courses of the Mississippi River.

The Mississippi River has changed its path several times over the past 10,000 years, ranging from the current location of Bayou Teche to its present route past Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Today the Atchafalaya River runs down the middle of the traditional Mississippi floodplain and would probably be the river`s main channel if not for the Old River Control Complex—an engineering feat made up of several structures that help to regulate the flow of water down the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers.

So how are the Atchafalaya Basin and the Atchafalaya NHA different? The Basin is located WITHIN the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area, a 14-parish region in south-central Louisiana that was designated by Congress in 2006. National Heritage Areas are places where historic, cultural and natural resources combine to form cohesive, nationally important landscapes. The Atchafalaya NHA is not a national park but a lived-in landscape. Through it we work to promote key stories that make this region unique while also encouraging cultural economic development and appreciation for the abundant local cultural and natural resources.

You can experience the ANHA in a variety of ways:

• via a swamp tour or a day of paddling under cypress trees dripping with Spanish moss. Watch graceful egrets take flight and glimpse alligators gliding stealthily beneath the surface of the water.
• by cycling our back roads. Taste our famous food, hear the music, and get to know the people who make this area special. Our flat terrain and mild climate make biking a year-round possibility.
• while exploring the complex blending of cultures that has produced distinctive regional cultural and language traditions. Learn the history of our Native American tribes, African and European roots and how the Acadians arrived here. You might even pick up a little Louisiana French.

There`s always something intriguing going on in the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area, or as we like to call it, "America`s Foreign Country." Find more information at Atchafalaya.org.

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