bayous
Marshy Southern waterways
Bayous are slow-moving, marshy waterways found in the southern United States, especially Louisiana.
The word evokes the swampy lowlands of the Gulf Coast—sluggish streams winding through cypress and Spanish moss: We paddled through the bayou at dusk.
Bayou culture suggests Cajun and Creole traditions of the Louisiana wetlands.
Water-saturated terrain
- habitatOrganism's natural environment
- biodiversityRange of life forms
- marshlandWaterlogged lowland area
- aquaticWater-inhabiting
freshwater · flora · fauna · fisheries · cypress · alligators · crawfish · nutria
Louisiana's French descendants
- CreoleFused language, stabilized
- LouisianaGulf Coast pelican state
- swamp toursGuided wetland expeditions
- pirogueHollowed-log watercraft
crawfish boil · zydeco · Acadiana · trapping · fishing camps · houseboats · airboats · shrimping
Following a winding course
- oxbowTight river curve
- windingCurving repeatedly, sinuous
- serpentineCurving in repeated bends
- sinuousCurving in flowing turns
backwater · slough · tributary · channel · inlet · floodplain · delta · estuary
Waterlogged land with vegetation
- marshGrassy waterlogged lowland
- bogAcidic peat wetland
- fenLow marshy ground
- mireBoggy, waterlogged terrain
peatland · floodplain · mangrove · riparian · hydrology · waterlogged · inundation · saturated
wetlands
Water-saturated terrain
- habitatOrganism's natural environment
- biodiversityRange of life forms
- marshlandWaterlogged lowland area
aquatic · freshwater · flora · fauna · fisheries · cypress · alligators · crawfish · nutria · egrets
Cajun
Louisiana's French descendants
- CreoleFused language, stabilized
- LouisianaGulf Coast pelican state
- swamp toursGuided wetland expeditions
pirogue · crawfish boil · zydeco · Acadiana · trapping · fishing camps · houseboats · airboats · shrimping · crabbing
meandering
Following a winding course
- oxbowTight river curve
- windingCurving repeatedly, sinuous
- serpentineCurving in repeated bends
sinuous · backwater · slough · tributary · channel · inlet · floodplain · delta · estuary · riverbend
swamp
Waterlogged land with vegetation
mire · peatland · floodplain · mangrove · riparian · hydrology · waterlogged · inundation · saturated · muddy
mysterious
Beyond easy comprehension
murky · haunted · ghostly · humid · sultry · primeval · whispering · stillness · foggy · twilight
- Gulf CoastGulf of Mexico, Gulfport, Gulf beaches, Gulf Stream, Alabama
- US geographystates, capitals, state boundaries, state lines, regions
- American landscapeprairies, plains, Great Plains, heartland, Midwest
- American SceneryGrand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Rocky Mountains, Great Plains
- Humid Southhigh humidity, hot summers, mild winters, muggy weather, sticky heat
- LouisianaNew Orleans, Baton Rouge, Bourbon Street, Shreveport, French Quarter
bayousrapids
Turbulent river section
torrents · cataracts · white water · cascades · whitewater rapids
bayousdeserts
Abandons or barren lands
arid plains · highlands · mesas · plateaus · mountain peaks
bayousoceans
Vast saltwater bodies
high seas · open ocean · open seas · bays · open water
- Louisiana bayouMarshy Southern waterway
- bayou townCommunity near sluggish waterways
- down the bayou