Catahoula Lake EarthCache

Catahoula Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake in Louisiana covering just over 46 square miles (120 km²). It is a shallow and poorly drained wetland fed by Little River and several creeks. It was drained by the Old River, French Fork and a number of bayous until a control structure and diversion canal was built by the Corps of Engineers in 1972. The watershed drained through the lake covers about 2500 square miles. 

Historically, as water levels rose in November and December, the lake flooded and remained flooded until June. When the lake de-watered, its vast mud flats attracted migratory shorebirds and then grew dense stands of vegetation that provided food for the thousands of ducks that arrived in winter. This is the scenario that led to it being established as a Ramsar site in 1991. Ramsar sites are named for a convention held in Ramsar, Iran in 1971 that contain rare or unique wetland types of international importance.

Between 150,000 to 400,000 waterfowl spend the winter there.

The geology on the northwestern side of the lake is an escarpment consisting of Deweyville Terrace to High Terraces (ranging from 55 to 135 ft.); while the southeastern side of the lake is Braided Stream Terraces (around 45 ft. in elevation). 

The soils also reflect the elevation and geology. The northwest area is Libuse-Gore-Vick nearly level to moderately steep, moderately well drained soils on broad ridgetops and side slopes of uplands; while the southeastern area goes from Alligator-Sharkey-Fausse to Deerford-Forestdale, both level, somewhat poorly drained soils.

The first settlers in the area built houses on the bluffs of the western shore of the lake in the 1700s.

The website for water levels can be found at www.rivergages.com go to state (Louisiana) and look at either Catahoula Lake @ center of lake, Catahoula Lake (lakeside) or Catahoula Lake (riverside) 

Citations:

Jerald Horst, Defining Lake Catahoula, Dec. 1, 2012, Louisiana Sportsman

Catahoula Lake, Wikipedia

Geological Map of LaSalle Parish, Louisiana, 1938, La. Geol. Survey

Ground-water Resources of Grant and La Salle Parishes, LA, La. Geol. Surv., 1941, 65pgs

Soil Survey of LaSalle Parish, Louisiana. USDA-SCS, 1986, 215+ pgs

Geology of Grant and La Salle Parishes, La. Geol. Survey, 1938, 323 pgs

Richard Keim, Water Management at Catahoula Lake, LASU Ag Center, 2015

Clair A. Brown, Vegetative and Lake Level Correlation at Catahoula Lake, Louisiana, Geographical Review, v.33

   no. 3 July 1943, pp435-445

Questions:

1) What is the approximate elevation of the lake in the summer? 

2) What is the approximate elevation in the winter?   

3) How high does the water have to be in order to reach the bottom of the gauge near the N parking lot by structure.    

4) The lake contains hundreds of permanent duck blinds, what other man-made structures are found in the lake? [Hint: see wavepoint parking lot at 31^o 30.541’ N, 92^o 5.249’ W. This is a dry weather road]