In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou (/ˈbaɪ.uː, ˈbaɪ.oʊ/)[1] is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They typically contain brackish water highly conducive to fish life and plankton. Bayous are commonly found in the Gulf Coast region of the southern United States, especially in the Mississippi River Delta, though they also exist elsewhere.

A bayou is often an anabranch or minor braid of a braided channel that is slower than the mainstem, often becoming boggy and stagnant. Though fauna varies by region, many bayous are home to crawfish, certain species of shrimp, other shellfish, catfish, frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, American alligators, American crocodiles, herons, lizards, turtles, tortoises, spoonbills, snakes, and leeches, as well as many other species.

Etymology

The word entered American English via Louisiana French in Louisiana and is thought to originate from the Choctaw word bayuk, which means "small stream".[2] The first settlements of the Bayou Têche and other bayous were founded by the Louisiana Creoles, which accounts for why the bayous are commonly associated with Creole and Cajun culture.

Alternative spelling, "buyou", is also known to have been formerly in use, as in "Pine Buyou", used in a description by Congress in 1833 of Arkansas Territory.

Geography

The term Bayou Country is most closely associated with Cajun and Creole cultural groups derived from French settlers and stretching along the Gulf Coast from Houston, Texas, to Mobile, Alabama, and picking back up in South Florida around the Everglades with its center in New Orleans, Louisiana.^{[citation needed]}

Houston has the nickname "Bayou City". As of 2016^[update] "bye-you" US: /ˈbaɪ.u/ is the most common pronunciation, while a few use "bye-oh" US: /ˈbaɪ.oʊ/, although that pronunciation is declining.[3]

Other uses

The Illinois Bayou in Arkansas harks back to the original meaning and may be the only bayou with whitewater rafting.[4][5][6] It meets neither of the definitions above.

Popular culture

The word is associated with the Hank Williams recording, "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)", the Roy Orbison and Linda Ronstadt recordings, "Blue Bayou", the Johnny Horton recording, "Shadows on the Bayou", the Creedence Clearwater Revival album Bayou Country, and their song "Born on the Bayou".

Notable examples

• Bayou Bartholomew
• Bayou Corne
• Bayou La Batre
• Bayou Lafourche
• Bayou St. John
• Bayou Teche
• Big Bayou Canot
• Buffalo Bayou
• Cypress Bayou

See also

• Backswamp – Environment on a floodplain where deposits settle after a flood
• Billabong – Australian term for a seasonal oxbow lake
• Hurricane on the Bayou – 2006 documentary film by Greg MacGillivray
• Oxbow lake – U-shaped lake or pool
• Yazoo stream – Hydrologic term
• Bayeux – Subprefecture and commune in Normandy, France

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bayous.