Atchafalaya River

The Atchafalaya River is a 137-mile-long distributary of the Mississippi River and Red River in south central Louisiana, and is the fifth largest river in North America by discharge. It flows south, just west of the Mississippi River, and is navigable, providing a significant industrial shipping channel for the state of Louisiana. The river's name comes from the Choctaw language, meaning "long river". The Atchafalaya River is formed near Simmesport at the confluence of the Red River with the Mississippi, and receives 30% of the combined flow of the two rivers, which is controlled by the Old River Control Structure. The river flows through the Atchafalaya Basin and Atchafalaya Swamp, and empties into the Gulf of Mexico in Atchafalaya Bay. The river's valley was designated the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area in 2006.learn more on wikipedia