Bayou Lafourche

and eroding currents; a characteristic of all the manmade channels of coastal Louisiana.
Another commodity equally
important to the people of the
Bayou Lafourche region was
cypress. From the moment the
first ax fell to clear the land for
farming, a market existed for
the valuable lumber that was
produced as a byproduct of
agricultural expansion. As farm
expansion neared its limits
beyond the natural levees of
Bayou Lafourche, another
method of lumber harvest was
required. The soft, inundated
floor of the cypress-tupelo
swamp made normal access
Oil rigs on Bayou Lafourche circa 1940
impossible. To overcome this,
canals were excavated and machinery was floated in to assist in harvest and transport.
Logs were dragged into the access channels and floated to mills. The dragged logs left
characteristic fan-shaped scars that radiated from these channels. Channels were
continuously excavated and extended to provide new access to virgin stands of timber.
The most drastic and visible alteration to the coastal landscape, and particularly to the
Barataria Basin began in the early 20 th century when the first canals were excavated to
access the rich petroleum reserves hidden beneath Louisiana’s marshes. Again, the
saturated sediments
required an
alternative to the
common practices of
the industry. Once
more, man-made
canals were the
perceived solution.
Thousands of miles
of access channels
were burrowed into
the marsh. From
these channels,
thousands more
ancillary canals
stretched toward
each well used to
extract valuable
crude from deep
Manmade channels are visible in satellite imagery. Prominent are Company Canal
that crosses Bayou Lafourche at Lockport and the Intracoastal Waterway at Larose.
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