8 feet (2.4 m.) in the channel over the bar, and depths of 4 to 5 feet (1.2 to 1.5 m.) 2 miles inside the bar. There is good anchorage, with a depth of 8 to 10 feet (2.4 to 3 m.), just inside the bar. A light on the inside of the eastern end of Timbalier Island is the only aid for entering.

Timbalier Light is a fixed red light shown from a white square tower, on a wooden dwelling on piles. The light is 56 feet (17 m.) high and visible for 13 miles. The fog signal is a bell, sounding one stroke every 20 seconds.

Caillou Pass, 9 miles westward of Grand Pass Timbalier, has a depth of 6 feet (1.8 m.) in the channel over the bar, and good anchorage inside the pass in 10 to 23 feet (3 to 7 m.) of water.

Cat Island Pass, about 3 miles westward of Caillou Pass, is the principal entrance to Terrebonne Bay. It has 12 feet (3.7 m.) on the bar, but only 8 feet (2.4 m.) at the anchorage, and from 4 to 8 feet (1.2 to 2.4 m.) in the bay.

Wine Island Pass is about 412 miles westward of Cat Island Pass and 24 miles east-northeastward of Ship Shoal Lighthouse. The pass has depths of about 9 feet (2.7 m.) on the bar and 8 feet (2.4 m.) at the anchorage inside.

Lake Felicity, Lake Barre, and Lake Raccourci are shoal bodies of water lying northward of Timbalier and Terrebonne Bays, and are connected therewith and with each other by many bayous and passes. The controlling depth in these lakes is 5 feet (1.5 m.). A draft of 4 feet (1.2 m.) can be taken from Bayou Terrebonne through Lake Barre, Lake Felicity, Grand Bayou Felicity, and Lake Raccourci to Southwestern Louisiana Canal. The entrance to the canal, however, is only good for 4 feet (1.2 m.) on a favorable tide. These waters are not marked.

Bayou Terrebonne is navigable from its mouth to the town of Houma, a distance of 32 miles. The bayou empties through three mouths, the northern one into Lake Barre has a controlling depth of 5 feet (1.5 m.), the eastern mouth at the end of a long delta is not navigable, and the southern mouth into Lake Lagraisse having a depth of 3 feet (0.9 m.). Sea Breeze Light, a fixed white light on a white post, marks the entrance for the two navigable mouths. From the mouths to Bush Canal the depth is 8 feet (2.4 m.), and from Bush Canal to Houma the depth is 5 feet (1.5 m.). At the town of Bourg, 25 miles above the mouth, the bayou connects with the main inside route leading to New Orleans (see p. 155). Several other canals enter the bayou and are used extensively by small boats. Several drawbridges with openings of ample width cross the bayou. The banks of the bayou are thickly settled throughout its upper half, and there are frequent settlements where gasoline and provisions can be obtained. Repairs to small boats can be had at Boyne, 12 miles above the mouth, and at Houma.

Caillou Bay is a large bight, with depths of 5 to 6 feet (1.5 to 1.8 m.), lying northward of the western end of Isle Derniere. There is good anchorage in 8 feet (2.4 m.) close inside of Raccoon Point, the western point of Isle Derniere, but there is only about 7 feet (2.1 m.) in the approach.

A protected inside route is afforded small craft of 4 to 5 feet (1.2 to 1.5 m.) draft from Terrebonne and Timbalier Bays westward through Lake Pelto and Caillou Boca to Caillou Bay.

Caillou Bayou, locally known as Bayou Grand Caillou, rises near Houma and empties into the Gulf about 7 miles north of Racoon Point. The bayou has a depth of 5 feet (1.5 m.) at the entrance and a least depth of 12 feet (3.7 m.) in a channel 800 feet wide for a distance of 16 miles above the entrance. It is navigable for a draft of 3 to 4 feet (0.9 to 1.2 m.) throughout, and near the upper end connects with Bayou Terrebonne by Cypress Company Canal and Bayou Little Caillou. The bayou connects with a network of navigable lakes and canals and is extensively used by small boats.

Oyster Bayou, 13 miles northwestward of Raccoon Point, connects the Gulf with Fourleague Bay, an arm of Atchafalaya Bay. It affords a protected route for small craft of 3 to 4 feet (0.9 to 1.2 m.) draft going to Atchafalaya Bay from Caillou Bay or the waters to the eastward.

Oyster Bayou Lighthouse is a white house on pile foundation, on the east side of the entrance. The light is fixed red, 47 feet (14.3 m.) above the water, and visible 8 miles.

Ship Shoal, lying about 10 miles southward of Raccoon Point, is about 25 miles long in a general east and west direction, 1 to 3 miles wide, and has depths ranging from 5 to 18 feet (1.5 to 5.5 m.); for 61⁄2 miles of its length it has a depth of less than 12 feet (3.7 m.). In stormy weather it may be distinguished at some little distance by a choppy or breaking sea. In calm weather its position is not indicated by natural phenomena, and it can best be avoided by use of the lead.

Ship Shoal Lighthouse stands in 14 feet (4.3 m.) of water, 86 miles 271° true (W. % S. mag.) from Southwest Pass gas and whistling buoy. It is a brown skeleton structure, inclosing a stair cylinder and cylindrical dwelling. The light is flashing white (flash 2.7 seconds, eclipse 27.3 seconds), 105 feet (32 m.) above the water, and visible 16 miles. A fog bell sounds a single stroke every 20 seconds. A flashing white gas and whistling buoy, "2SHIP," lies about 19 miles 164° true (SSE. mag.) from Ship Shoal Lighthouse. It is moored on the 10-fathom (18 m.) curve.

ATCHAFALAYA BAY AND RIVER

Atchafalaya Bay is a large indentation in the coast of Louisiana 112 miles westward of Southwest Pass, Mississippi River, and 37 miles northwestward of Ship Shoal Lighthouse. It is about 28 miles long in nearly an east and west direction, and averages 7 miles wide. It is full of shoals and oyster reefs, and has general depths of 3 to 9 feet (0.9 to 2.7 m.). The bay is partially separated from the Gulf by a fringe of reefs, the eastern end of which is known as Point au Fer Shell Reef, and the approach for 25 miles is shallow, with depths of 25 feet (7.6 m.) or less. Atchafalaya Bay is the approach to Atchafalaya River and Morgan City. The usual draft of vessels navigating the bay is 6 feet (1.8 m.) or less, except those using the dredged channel to Atchafalaya River, through which a draft of 16 feet (4.9 m.) has been taken: Depth at present, 6 feet (1.8 m.).

Prominent features. In approaching Atchafalaya Bay, Point au Fer Reef Lighthouse is about the only object which can be easily recognized by a stranger, as the coast eastward and westward is low and marshy. Belle Isle, on the north shore of the bay, northward

of the lighthouse, is 130 feet (40 m.) high, and makes a conspicuous object from some distance offshore, but it will probably not be sighted before the lighthouse.

Point au Fer Reef Lighthouse is a white wooden house on pile foundation on Eugene Island on the westerly side of the dredged channel. The light is fixed white, 54 feet (16.5 m.) above the water, and visible 13 miles.

Southwest Reef unused lighthouse, 61⁄2 miles west of Point au Fer Reef Lighthouse, is a black square pyramidal tower, connected to a square house on piles with a pyramidal tower on the roof. This is a prominent object for small vessels approaching close inshore from westward.

Atchafalaya Bay Ship Channel is a dredged cut extending from the Gulf northeastward through Point au Fer Shell Reef to the mouth of Atchafalaya River. It has a width of 200 feet and a project depth of 20 feet (6.1 m.), but these dimensions have not been maintained and the controlling depth is 6 feet (1.8 m.) for a short distance. The dredged channel is marked by lights and beacons on the northwesterly side, and by occasional piles on the southeasterly side. A spoil bank extends along the northwest side of the channel to Light No. 7.

A Cutoff Channel, marked on the northerly side by pile beacons, leads from the mouth of Atchafalaya River westward through the bay to the entrance to East Cote Blanche Bay, and to a channel leading to the Gulf at Southwest Reef unused lighthouse. This channel has been nearly abandoned and some of the beacons are gone. It is good for a draft of 6 feet (1.8 m.).

Atchafalaya River empties into the northeastern corner of Atchafalaya Bay from northward. It is the outlet of an extensive system of lakes and bayous in southern Louisiana which, in part, afford inside passages to the Mississippi and New Orleans and to other parts of the State.

From Atchafalaya Bay to Morgan City, a distance of 15 miles, the river has a crooked channel one-eighth to three-eights mile wide and 40 to 140 feet (12 to 43 m.) deep, the deepest water generally being found in midstream. A railroad drawbridge, with an opening 110 feet wide on each side of a center pier, crosses the river at Morgan City.

Bayou Boeuf extends eastward from Atchafalaya River from a junction at Morgan City, and forms a part of the inland waterway, New Orleans to Sabine Pass, described on page 153.

Bayou Plaquemine.-From Morgan City there is a waterway with an available depth of 7 to 10 feet (2.1 to 3 m.) northward to the Mississippi River at Plaquemine, a distance of 55 miles. It follows Atchafalaya River 2 miles, Flat Lake 234 miles, Bayou Long 614 miles, Belle River 8 miles, Big and Little Godelle 5 miles, Bay Natchez 511⁄2 miles, Grand River 1611⁄2 miles, and Bayou Plaquemine 9 miles. The channel through Flat Lake is marked by lights and piles, and has a controlling depth of about 7 feet (2.1 m.), project depth 10 feet (3 m.)

A Government lock (no tolls) at Plaquemine, on the Mississippi River 95 miles above New Orleans, connects this route with the Mississippi River. The lock has an available length of 265 feet, a width of 55 feet, and a low-water depth over sills of 10 feet (3 m.).

At low-river stages, by using the outside gates, the lock has an available length of 356 feet, or by using gates 1 and 3, a length of 310 feet. Bayou Grossetete, emptying into Bayou Plaquemine 61⁄2 miles below the lock, is navigable for a draft of 5 feet (1.5 m.) for a distance of 25 miles above its mouth. It is used principally by barges carrying cane and by log rafts.

Bayou Teche is a waterway of southern Louisiana having its source in St. Landry Parish and flowing southeastward, parallel to and 35 miles westward of the Mississippi River, for 110 miles, to the point where it joins the lower Atchafalaya River, about 10 miles above Morgan City. It is navigable for a draft of 8 feet (2.4 m.) to Franklin and 4 feet (1.2 m.) to Arnaudville, 104 miles above Morgan City, and within 16 miles of the head of the bayou. The Teche is crossed by several drawbridges of ample width. Keystone Lock, 160 feet long and 36 feet wide in the clear, is about 66 miles above the mouth of Bayou Teche.

There is regular steamer communication between New Orleans, Houma, Morgan City, and the principal ports on the Teche.

Morgan City, a town of considerable importance on the east bank of Atchafalaya River, has railroad communication with all points east and west. The principal articles of commerce are fur, fish, oysters, and lumber. Steamers of 3 to 6 feet (0.9 to 1.8 m.) draft run to all adjacent bayous, lakes, and rivers, and to New Orleans. Coal, gasoline, water, provisions, and some ship chandlery can be obtained here. There is a machine shop and two marine ways with a capacity of about 300 tons and 8 feet draft.

Berwick is a small town opposite Morgan City and connected with it by ferry. It has a marine railway with a capacity of about 300 tons and 8 feet draft.

Wharves.-There are ample depths at most of the wharves at Morgan City for any vessel that can enter the bay and come up the river. The wharves are privately owned.

Anchorage.-There is good anchorage anywhere in the bay where suitable depth can be found. Vessels seldom anchor in the river, except just below the railroad bridge at Morgan City, on account of the depth and the currents, though the bottom affords good holding ground.

Storm warnings are displayed at Morgan City above the bridge. Hospital. There is a relief station of the United States Public Health Service at Morgan City; the nearest marine hospital is at New Orleans.

Pilots and towboats.-There are no regular pilots and but three towboats. Vessels desiring either should anchor between the inner buoy and the outer end of the dredged channel at the entrance to Atchafalaya Bay, and send a boat to Morgan City. Whenever a vessel is expected the towboat makes a trip from Morgan City to the Gulf daily until the vessel arrives.

Fog is most frequent during January, February, and March. Southerly winds bring it in and northerly winds clear it away.

Tides, currents, and freshets.-The rise and fall of the tide and the velocity of the current depend to a considerable extent upon the force and direction of the wind. At the entrance to the bay the mean range of tide is 1.2 feet; at Morgan City normal tide action is not perceptible. Northerly winds lower the water surface

at Morgan City as much as 1 foot, and southeasterly winds raise it 112 to 2 feet.

Freshets occur frequently during May and June, at which times the river overflows its banks and the current has considerable velocity, making it difficult to keep in the channel. During ordinary stages of the river the current has a velocity of about one-half knot. When there are freshets in the rivers the water in Atchafalaya Bay is quite fresh and that in the Cote Blanche Bays is nearly so. The discolored water coming out of the mouth of the river will be encountered well offshore, the distance depending much upon the direction of the wind.

Directions, Atchafalaya Bay and River.-Vessels of 8 feet (2.4 m.) or more draft approaching the bay from eastward or westward should keep in about 3 to 4 fathoms (5.5 to 7.3 m.) of water until a 37° true (NNE. 34 E. mag.) course will bring Point au Fer Reef Lighthouse ahead when sighted. This course will then lead along the axis of the dredged channel. Strangers should select anchorage as far inshore as the draft will permit, and obtain local assistance.

Leave beacons and lights to port and piles to starboard, and when up to light No. 7 (fixed white), haul eastward leaving beacon No. 13 to port and light No. 2 (fixed red) to starboard. When three-fourth mile past light No. 2 haul northward into the mouth of the river and steer midriver courses to Morgan City. The channel is marked by lights, while stakes with pointers mark the shoal water off the points.

Little Wax Bayou, leaving Atchafalaya River 3 miles below Morgan City, empties into Wax Lake and thence through Wax Lake Pass into the Gulf. Big Wax Bayou, a branch of Little Wax Bayou, empties into the Gulf at the entrance to Wax Lake Pass. The main inside route from Morgan City to West Cote Blanche Bay now extends through Little Wax Bayou, Wax Lake, Wax Lake Pass, the northern part of Atchafalaya Bay, and East Cote Blanche Bay. The other route, via Bayou Teche and Hanson Canal, is obstructed by fixed bridges over Hanson Canal, with an average clearance of 9 feet. (See description of Hanson Canal below.) The controlling depth is 10 feet (3.0 m.) in Little Wax Bayou, Wax Lake, and Wax Lake Pass, but the depth on the bar is only 6 feet (1.8 m.).

East Cote Blanche, West Cote Blanche, and Vermilion Bays are the names applied to three parts of a large body of water which extends west-northwestward from the northwestern side of Atchafalaya Bay and is separated from the Gulf by Marsh Island. The bays have a combined length of about 32 miles, with varying width of 5 to 15 miles and average depth of 5 to 9 feet (1.5 to 2.7 m.). With the exception of Cote Blanche Island and Weeks Island, the shores of these bays and of Marsh Island are low and marshy.

The bays are of little commercial importance, and there are but few settlements directly on their shores. Back a short distance from the east shore of East Cote Blanche Bay is the plantation settlement of Southbend, the terminus of a railroad branch line.

Vessels going from Atchafalaya Bay to East Cote Blanche Bay generally use Morrison Cutoff, between Point Chevreuil on the east and Rabbit Island on the west. Under favorable conditions