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re: Why does the Red River suddenly just name change to the Atchafalaya River?
Posted on 8/8/25 at 3:55 pm to Meauxjeaux
Posted on 8/8/25 at 3:55 pm to Meauxjeaux
Lee Drive would like to know the answer
0
Posted on 8/8/25 at 4:00 pm to Meauxjeaux
Why is False River called a River when it's not a River at all?
Posted on 8/8/25 at 4:15 pm to cbree88
quote:
The Mississippi River meandered to the west and intercepted the Red River, cutting it in two. The upper Red River became a tributary of the Mississippi River, and the lower Red River became a distributary of the Mississippi River. The lower Red River came to be known as the Atchafalaya River after European settlement in North America after all of this had already happened since they appeared to be separate rivers at that point.
They weren't connected naturally in 1830's. The three river were interconnected when Captain Shreve cleared the "Great Red River Raft" in the 1830's.
As a result the Mississippi started to divert down the Atchafalaya to the gulf since it was a shorter route which is what led the construction of the Old River Control station to keep 1/3 flow down the Atchafalaya, 2/3's on the current path.
Edited to correct erroneous dates
This post was edited on 8/8/25 at 6:03 pm
Posted on 8/8/25 at 4:16 pm to cbree88
The Red River basin
Posted on 8/8/25 at 4:18 pm to Meauxjeaux
Many rivers just change names.
The Yadkin turns into the Pee Dee.
The Catawba turns into the Wateree, to the Congaree to the Santee.
The Yadkin turns into the Pee Dee.
The Catawba turns into the Wateree, to the Congaree to the Santee.
Posted on 8/8/25 at 4:28 pm to profdillweed
quote:
Why is False River called a River when it's not a River at all?
Because it's a false river, hence the name.
Posted on 8/8/25 at 4:55 pm to Ghost of Colby
quote:
The Red River basin
What does that mean for my post? It doesn’t change anything.
This post was edited on 8/8/25 at 5:02 pm
Posted on 8/8/25 at 4:59 pm to armytiger96
quote:
They weren't connected naturally in 1850's. The three river were interconnected when Captain Shreve cleared the "Great Red River Raft" in the 1930's. As a result the Mississippi started to divert down the Atchafalaya to the gulf since it was a shorter route which is what led the construction of the Old River Control station to keep 1/3 flow down the Atchafalaya, 2/3's on the current path.
Correct. Nothing in this conflicts with my post, although you might have some dates wrong.
The Mississippi had already cut the Red River into two rivers at that point, and the Atchafalaya was a distributary of the Mississippi at that point. It was connected to the Mississippi River, but it had been become clogged with a log jam.
In other words, Captain Shreve cleared the log jam, but the two rivers were already connected.
This post was edited on 8/8/25 at 5:03 pm
Posted on 8/8/25 at 5:08 pm to profdillweed
quote:
Why is False River called a River when it's not a River at all?
Because it used to be part of the Mississippi River channel. The river meandered and cut a new path, abandoning the the section that became an oxbow lake that we now call False River.
Posted on 8/8/25 at 5:30 pm to cbree88
JFC some of you are so dense 
Posted on 8/8/25 at 5:54 pm to cbree88
quote:
Correct. Nothing in this conflicts with my post, although you might have some dates wrong. The Mississippi had already cut the Red River into two rivers at that point, and the Atchafalaya was a distributary of the Mississippi at that point. It was connected to the Mississippi River, but it had been become clogged with a log jam.
I stand corrected. I was under the impression that he physically connected the Atchafalaya to the Mississippi when he cleared the log jam. Not a connection via natural westward migration of the river.
As for the dates . . yeah those were typos from posting in a hurry. It should have been 1830's . . . 1850 was from memory from my 3 week co-op study at the Corps when I was a cadet 30 years ago. 1930 was a typo after I did a quick Google search to check the memory on the dates.
This post was edited on 8/8/25 at 6:06 pm
Posted on 8/8/25 at 6:05 pm to Meauxjeaux
While we’re talking river names, the Missouri River is longer than the Mississippi River north of their confluence near St Louis, and the Ohio River has about 10x the flow rate compared to the Mississippi River. The Mississippi River should really only be from Minnesota to St Louis, and the Ohio River should flow to the Gulf.
Posted on 8/8/25 at 6:17 pm to The Boat
quote:
The Mississippi River should really only be from Minnesota to St Louis,
Good grief!
Posted on 8/8/25 at 6:21 pm to mauser
Clearly that piece wouldn’t be named the Mississippi River anymore, but that segment has no business being the namesake of the entire river system.
Posted on 8/8/25 at 7:48 pm to The Boat
Ultimately it should be the Louisiana River, though right?
Posted on 8/8/25 at 8:07 pm to Meauxjeaux
quote:
So shouldn't it go back to Red River after the cut?
The Atchafalaya was not directly connected to the Red River when Europeans showed up in Louisiana; there were two separate rivers. The lower took on the Choctaw name, Atchafalaya. That is not a Cajun name. It translates to Long River.
Posted on 8/8/25 at 8:09 pm to Meauxjeaux
quote:
Red River
Guardian River, sir
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