Bayou Teche

Bayou Teche
Bayou Teche
	Bayou Teche at its intersection with the Wax Lake outlet of the Atchafalaya River in St Mary Parish, Louisiana. The bayou runs bottom–top in the picture. View is to the west-northwest.
	Bayou Teche
Location
Country	United States
States	Louisiana
Parishes	St. Landry; St. Martin; Iberia; St. Mary;
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Bayou Courtableu at Port Barre, St. Landry Parish
• coordinates	30°33′36″N 91°57′25″W / 30.560°N 91.957°W
Mouth
• location	Lower Atchafalaya River near Patterson, St. Mary Parish
• coordinates	29°43′08″N 91°20′02″W / 29.719°N 91.334°W
Length	125 miles (201 km)
Basin features
Cities	Port Barre; Breaux Bridge; St. Martinville; New Iberia; Jeanerette; Franklin;

Bayou Teche (Louisiana French: Bayou Têche) is a 125-mile-long (201 km)^[1] waterway in south central Louisiana in the United States. Bayou Teche was the Mississippi River's main course when it developed a delta about 2,800 to 4,500 years ago. Through a natural process known as deltaic switching, the river's deposits of silt and sediment cause the Mississippi to change its course every thousand years or so.

^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed June 20, 2011

[NHD-1] U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed June 20, 2011

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