An old tow boat serves as a car ferry at Melville on the Atchafalaya River
General Description & Characteristics: The Red River is one of the longest rivers of the United States, flowing about 1360 miles (including the Atchafalaya Basin). It starts in the Texas panhandle, runs along the Oklahoma/Texas border, and through Louisiana, until it finally joins the Atchafalaya. The Red is a natural tributary of the Mississippi River, but a large Corps of Engineers structure now diverts its flow into the Atchafalaya Basin. The lower Red River and Atchafalaya basin flow through the relatively flat terrain of Louisiana, into some of the most striking swampland in the country. During periods of high seasonal flow, substantial amounts of water are diverted into the Atchafalaya Basin from the Mississippi River.
Location and Navigable Mileage: The maintained waterway of the Red River and the Atchafalaya basin are contained entirely in the state of Louisiana. The navigable portion of the Red River is from Shreveport/Bossier City to the confluence with "Old River" a historic channel of the Mississippi that now flows into the Atchafalaya Basin. This is a total distance of 234 miles. Continuing down the Atchafalaya Basin main channel, it is a another 127 miles to Morgan City and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. There are five lock and dam structures on the Red River between Shreveport and Old River.
During seasons of higher seasonal water flow, it will be possible to navigate further up the Red River, however no channel maintenance is done in that area.
Interesting Features: Think of the lower Red River as a miniature version of the Mississippi. Its water is very silty and sandy, and during the lower water seasons you will see many large sandbars on many bends. The scenery alternates between remote bottomland woods and the occasional town.
Services for boaters are virtually non-existent on the Red River, so those expecting to find marinas and waterside amenities will be disappointed. There are a few Corps of Engineers parks with limited services. The usually swift current will make it difficult to find protected waters in some areas. On the other hand, those seeking to camp along the river will find no end of locations where that is feasible.
The Red River Structure, discussed in detail in John McPhee's book The Control of Nature (see below), contains the Mississippi River in its current channel, preventing it from being captured by the Atchafalaya Basin. A spillway allows excess flow from the Mississippi to run into the Atchafalaya, while a lock and dam permits navigation between these two waterways -- the level of the Mississippi is usually considerably higher than the Red/Atchafalaya. We have seen reports that the Atchafalaya conveys as much as one-third of the Mississippi's water to the Gulf of Mexico.
In the Atchafalaya Basin, while the main channel is marked, maintained, and well defined, there are also myriad side channels, sloughs, bayous, lakes, and swamps that can be explored with the appropriate craft and proper navigation equipment and skills. This is the heart of Acadiana, Louisiana's "Cajun" country.
Additional Information:
| Navigation Information, Charts |
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| Connecting Waterways |
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| Towns, parks, attractions on/near the Waterway |
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| Books |
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| More Pictures | . | ||||||||||
| Environmental Issues/Organizations | American Fisheries Society commentary on Atchafalaya Basin | ||||||||||
| Acknowledgments/Contributors | . | ||||||||||
| Miscellaneous | . |
