bayou

A section of still or slow-moving marshy water cut off from a main river channel. It is often in the form of an oxbow lake. Bayous are typical of the Mississippi R delta in Louisiana, USA.

The first settlements of Acadians in southern Louisiana were near Bayou Lafourche and Bayou des Ecores which led to a close association of the bayou with Cajun culture.

Bayou Country is most closely associated with Cajun (Acadian French) and Creole (mixed French, African, and Indian) cultural groups native to the Gulf Coast region generally stretching from Houston, Texas to Mobile, Alabama with its center in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Houston, Texas is known as the "Bayou City," primarily because of the massive, muddy, miles-long Buffalo Bayou that twists and turns its way through the fourth largest city in the United States. Other major bayous in Houston include Brays Bayou, Sims Bayou, White Oak Bayou, and Greens Bayou.

Famous bayous

Bayou des Ecores Bayou Lafourche Buffalo Bayou Cypress Bayou Devil's Bayou (fictional) Bayou Terrebonne