This unique habitat of forested wetland in the old floodplain of the Mississippi River witnesses the mixing of fresh and sea water, creating a brackish estuary covering 5700 sq km of southern Louisiana. Atchafalaya Basin is the largest river swamp in the USA, far bigger than the Everglades.
Some 70 per cent of the area is known as cyprus-tupelo – a blend of bald cypress and various tupelo tree species that create a complex habitat rich in biodiversity. The swamp is best characterised by the cyprus trees with their wide buttressed trunks and feathery canopies festooned with Spanish moss.
The murky waters around the trees' feet are home to over 100 species of fish including catfish, which attract an unusually dense concentration of breeding bald eagles as well as other fish hunters such as pelicans, herons and egrets. Meanwhile, healthy populations of beavers, otters and muskrats ply the waterways.
The swamp's rivers and deep muds are treacherous and hard to navigate and sudden floods can take the unwary by surprise. With a thriving population of alligators, black bears and venomous copperhead and cottonmouth snakes, the Atchafalaya is no place to explore without local guides. But the great
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