All Topics  
Calcasieu River

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Calcasieu River
 
 
  Topics Calcasieu River Topic Home

The Calcasieu River (KAL-kuh-shoo) is a river on the Gulf Coast of southwestern Louisiana
Louisiana

The State of Louisiana is a U.S. state located in the U.S. Southern States of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans....
, U.S.A.. Approximately 200 miles (320 km) long, it drains a largely rural area of forests and bayou
Bayou

A bayou is a small, slow-moving stream or creek, or a lake or pool that lies in an abandoned channel of a stream. Bayous are usually located in relatively flat, low-lying areas, for example, in the Mississippi River River delta region of the southern United States....
 country, meandering southward to the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water in the world. Considered a smaller part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is an oceanic basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba....
. The name "Calcasieu" comes from the Native American
Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii....
 Atakapa
Atakapa

The Atakapa were a Southeastern tribes of Native Americans in the United States tribes and with a common language that lived along the Gulf of Mexico....
 language katkosh, for Eagle, and yok, to cry. Its historical Spanish name was Arroyo Hondo ("Deep Stream").

The Calcasieu rises in Vernon Parish
Vernon Parish, Louisiana

Vernon Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Leesville, Louisiana and as of 2000, the population was 52,531....
, north of Leesville
Leesville, Louisiana

Leesville is a city in and the parish seat of Vernon Parish, Louisiana, Louisiana, United States. The population was 6,753 at the 2000 United States Census....
 and flows initially southeast, passing through the Kisatchie National Forest
Kisatchie National Forest

Kisatchie National Forest, the only United States National Forest in Louisiana, is located in the state's Old growth forest piney hills and hardwood bottoms of seven central and northern county ....
 southwest of Alexandria
Alexandria, Louisiana

Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state....
.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Calcasieu River'
Start a new discussion about 'Calcasieu River'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The Calcasieu River (KAL-kuh-shoo) is a river on the Gulf Coast of southwestern Louisiana
Louisiana

The State of Louisiana is a U.S. state located in the U.S. Southern States of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans....
, U.S.A.. Approximately 200 miles (320 km) long, it drains a largely rural area of forests and bayou
Bayou

A bayou is a small, slow-moving stream or creek, or a lake or pool that lies in an abandoned channel of a stream. Bayous are usually located in relatively flat, low-lying areas, for example, in the Mississippi River River delta region of the southern United States....
 country, meandering southward to the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water in the world. Considered a smaller part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is an oceanic basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba....
. The name "Calcasieu" comes from the Native American
Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii....
 Atakapa
Atakapa

The Atakapa were a Southeastern tribes of Native Americans in the United States tribes and with a common language that lived along the Gulf of Mexico....
 language katkosh, for Eagle, and yok, to cry. Its historical Spanish name was Arroyo Hondo ("Deep Stream").

The Calcasieu rises in Vernon Parish
Vernon Parish, Louisiana

Vernon Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Leesville, Louisiana and as of 2000, the population was 52,531....
, north of Leesville
Leesville, Louisiana

Leesville is a city in and the parish seat of Vernon Parish, Louisiana, Louisiana, United States. The population was 6,753 at the 2000 United States Census....
 and flows initially southeast, passing through the Kisatchie National Forest
Kisatchie National Forest

Kisatchie National Forest, the only United States National Forest in Louisiana, is located in the state's Old growth forest piney hills and hardwood bottoms of seven central and northern county ....
 southwest of Alexandria
Alexandria, Louisiana

Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state....
. It then turns southwest, flowing past Oakdale
Oakdale, Louisiana

Oakdale is a small city in Allen Parish, Louisiana, Louisiana, United States. The population was 8,137 at the 2000 United States Census.Oakdale was founded as "Dunnsville" by William T....
 and Lake Charles
Lake Charles, Louisiana

Lake Charles is the fifth largest incorporated city in the US state of Louisiana.It is the major cultural and educational center in the southwest region of the state and one of the most important in Acadiana....
, the largest city on the river. It enters the north end of the brackish Calcasieu Lake
Calcasieu Lake

Calcasieu Lake is a brackish lake located in southwest Louisiana, United States, located mostly within Cameron Parish, Louisiana. The lake is paralleled on its west shore by Louisiana Highway 27 and is located about 17 miles south of Lake Charles, Louisiana....
, an estuary
Estuary

An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
 on the Gulf of Mexico approximately 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Lake Charles. The lake, which is referred to by locals as "Big Lake", is connected by a 5-mile (8 km) channel to the gulf on the south end. The lower portion of the river south of Lake Charles is paralleled by a navigable canal which connects to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
Gulf Intracoastal Waterway

The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is the portion of the Intracoastal Waterway located along the Gulf Coast of the United States of the United States....
.

In the early 19th century, the area of present-day Louisiana and Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
 west of the Calcasieu and east of the Neches River
Neches River

The Neches River flows for through east Texas to its mouth on Sabine Lake near the Rainbow Bridge . Two major reservoirs, Lake Palestine and Lake B....
 was disputed between the U.S. and Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
. The dispute arose from differing interpretations of the Adams-Onís Treaty
Adams-Onís Treaty

The Adams-On?s Treaty of 1819, also known as the Transcontinental Treaty of 1819, settled a border dispute in North America between the United States and Spain....
. The area became known as Neutral Ground
Sabine Free State

The Sabine Free State, also known as the Neutral Ground, Neutral Strip, Neutral Territory, and No Man's Land of Louisiana was a disputed area between Spanish Texas and the United States' newly acquired Louisiana Purchase....
 and became a haven for privateer
Privateer

A privateer was a private warship authorized by a country's government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping. Strictly, a privateer was only entitled by its state to attack and rob enemy vessels during wartime....
s outside the legal jurisdiction of both nations.

Because the river passes through areas intensive in petroleum
Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid found in rock formations in the Earth consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights, plus other organic compounds....
 refining and other industries, petrochemical wastes have been found contaminating the river and estuarine environment along the lower Calcasieu River. In 1994 Condea Vista leaked about 47 million pounds of highly carcinogenic ethylene dichloride into the river, and then tried to cover up. Most of it drained into the Gulf.