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{{Infobox river
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▲| image = Larose Louisiana aerial view.jpg
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▲| image_caption = The intersection of Bayou Lafourche and the [[Gulf Intracoastal Waterway]] at [[Larose, Louisiana]]. View is to the east-southeast. The bayou runs off towards the Gulf at the top. The waterway crosses the picture left–right. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has installed a floodgate on the bayou, visible at center.
| map = {{maplink|from=Bayou Lafourche.map |type=line |frame=yes |plain=yes |frame-align=center |frame-width=270 |frame-height=200}}
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| map_caption = Bayou Lafourche
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▲| pushpin_map_caption= Location of the mouth
▲| subdivision_type1 = Country
| subdivision_type3 = Parishes
▲| subdivision_name1 = [[United States]]
| subdivision_name3 = {{hlist |[[Ascension Parish, Louisiana|Ascension]] |[[Assumption Parish, Louisiana|Assumption]] |[[Lafourche Parish, Louisiana|Lafourche]]}}
▲| subdivision_type2 = State
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▲| subdivision_name2 = [[Louisiana]]
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| length = {{convert |106|mi|km}}
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| source1 = [[Mississippi River]]
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| mouth = [[Gulf of Mexico]]
| mouth_location = Between [[Timbalier Bay]] and [[Caminada Bay]]
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▲| mouth_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|...|display=inline,title}} -->
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| cities = {{hlist |[[Donaldsonville, Louisiana|Donaldsonville]] |[[Paincourtville, Louisiana|Paincourtville]] |[[Plattenville, Louisiana|Plattenville]] |[[Napoleonville, Louisiana|Napoleonville]] |[[Labadieville, Louisiana|Labadieville]] |[[Thibodaux, Louisiana|Thibodaux]] |[[Raceland, Louisiana|Raceland]] |[[Lockport, Louisiana|Lockport]] |[[Larose, Louisiana|Larose]] |[[Cut Off, Louisiana|Cut Off]] |[[Belle Amie, Louisiana|Belle Amie]] |[[Galliano, Louisiana|Galliano]] |[[Golden Meadow, Louisiana|Golden Meadow]] }}
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'''Bayou Lafourche''' ({{IPAc-en|l|ə|ˈ|f|uː|ʃ}} {{Respell|lə|FOOSH}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EMnkN21Ge4&t=59s|title=Bayou Lafourche (Part 1 of 4)|work=YouTube|date=December 5, 2019|accessdate=12 December 2022}}</ref>), originally called '''Chetimachas River'''<ref>[http://rumsey.geogarage.com/maps/g0411044.html "Course Of The River {{Sic|hide=y|Missi|ssipi}}, from the Balise to Fort Chartres. Ross, Lieut. 1775" rumsey.geogarage.com]</ref> or '''La Fourche des Chetimaches''',<ref name="Peña2004">{{cite book|author=Christopher G. Peña|title=Scarred by War: Civil War in Southeast Louisiana|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3Hl0gGZY5bkC&pg=PA14|year=2004|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=978-1-4184-5544-6|pages=14–}}</ref> (the fork of the [[Chitimacha]]), is a {{convert|106|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}}<ref name=NHD>U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. [http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/ The National Map] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329155652/http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/ |date=2012-03-29 }}, accessed June 20, 2011</ref> [[bayou]] in southeastern [[Louisiana]], [[United States]], that flows into the [[Gulf of Mexico]]. The bayou is flanked by [[Louisiana Highway 1]] on the west and [[Louisiana Highway 308]] on the east, and is known as "the longest Main Street in the world."<ref name="Brasseaux2011">{{cite book|author=Carl A. Brasseaux|title=Acadiana: Louisiana's Historic Cajun Country|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ken6jVIfJ_cC&pg=PT105|year=2011|publisher=Louisiana State University Press|isbn=978-0-8071-3723-9|pages=105–}}</ref> It flows through parts of [[Ascension Parish, Louisiana|Ascension]], [[Assumption Parish, Louisiana|Assumption]], and [[Lafourche Parish, Louisiana|Lafourche]] parishes. Today, approximately 300,000 Louisiana residents drink water drawn from the bayou.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.blfwd.org/ |title=Bayou Lafourche Fresh Water District |access-date=2014-07-18 |quote=Serving the citizens of Ascension, Assumption, Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes for over 50 years }}</ref>
==History==
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The [[Bollinger Shipyards]], founded by
On August 29, 2021, [[Hurricane Ida]] made landfall in Lafourche parish. Dam walls at the end of the bayou were closed to prevent a [[storm surge]] of salt water from entering.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hurricane Ida Makes Landfall as an
On July 27, 2024, a 3-mile stretch of the bayou in [[Raceland, Louisiana|Raceland]] faced an [[oil spill]] breach. The leak was caused by a valve failure at a Crescent Midstream crude oil facility and the resulting discharge travelled into the bayou from a [[storm drain]]. The spill was contained by parish officials and the community's drinking water was not affected.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Carroll|first=Metia|url=https://www.wdsu.com/article/bayou-lafourche-oil-spill-raceland/61715855|title=Lafourche Parish government aware of oil spill in Bayou Lafourche|website=[[WDSU]]|date=July 27, 2024|access-date=July 27, 2024}}</ref>
==Mississippi River reintroduction==
[[File:BayouLafourche.jpg|thumb|right|350 px|[[Riverboat]] on Bayou Lafourche.]]
A long-term project to revitalize Bayou Lafourche with an increased flow of fresh water from the Mississippi River and halt the accelerated loss of land down the bayou is currently in progress.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lacoast.gov/new/Projects/Info.aspx?num=ba-25b |title=Mississippi River Reintroduction Into Bayou Lafourche (Deauthorized) (BA-25b) |work=Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Planning Protection and Restoration Act Program |access-date=2014-07-18 }}</ref><ref name="Mitsch2005">{{cite book|author=W.J. Mitsch|title=Wetland Creation, Restoration, and Conservation: The State of Science|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gsatP133leYC&pg=PA256|date=23 December 2005|publisher=Newnes|isbn=978-0-08-093126-5|pages=256–}}</ref>
In 2016, Bayou Lafourche was [[dredged]] from Donaldsonville to [[Napoleonville, Louisiana|Napoleonville]] of vegetation and sediment that constricted the surface area of the water. In [[Lockport, Louisiana|Lockport]], a water gate was constructed on Bayou Lafourche to mitigate the amount of salt water invading the bayou during periods of low tide. In 2021, a [[weir]] was removed in [[Thibodaux, Louisiana|Thibodaux]], allowing recreational boating passage through the entire bayou. By 2025, a $96 million<ref>AP staff. (23 October 2022). "Work Begins on New Pump Station on Bayou Lafourche". [https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/louisiana/articles/2022-10-23/work-begins-on-new-pump-station-on-bayou-lafourche US New & World Report website] Retrieved 23 October 2022.</ref> pumping station is set to be completed in Donaldsonville, next to the original that was constructed in 1950. The new station will be able to pump three times the amount of fresh water from the Mississippi River than the original and, in turn, return the flow of water throughout the bayou during low tides.<ref>{{cite web|last=Baurick|first=Tristian|url=https://www.nola.com/news/environment/article_df6f41d4-40c6-11ec-8763-c32f514666e4.html|title=The restoration of Bayou Lafourche marks two milestones: a new pump and a busted dam|website=[[NOLA.com]]|date=November 8, 2021}}</ref>
==Crossings==
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==See also==
{{portal|Louisiana}}
*[[Nicholls State University]]
*[[Battle of LaFourche Crossing]]
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{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Wetlands and bayous of Louisiana]]
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