The Bogue Falaya, also known as the Bogue Falaya River, is a 28-mile-long (45 km)[1] river in southeastern Louisiana in the United States.[2] It is a tributary of the Tchefuncte River, which flows to Lake Pontchartrain. The river flows through an area of mixed pine-hardwood and bottomland hardwood forests on the Gulf Coastal Plain.[3]

Bogue Falaya
Wooden bridge crossing the Bogue Falaya River near Covington, Louisiana, 1910s.
Map
Bogue Falaya
Location
CountryUnited States
StateLouisiana
Parishes
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationWashington Parish, Louisiana
 • coordinates30°42′11″N 90°09′55″W / 30.70306°N 90.16528°W / 30.70306; -90.16528
MouthTchefuncte River
 • location
Covington, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
 • coordinates
30°26′23″N 90°06′59″W / 30.43972°N 90.11639°W / 30.43972; -90.11639
Length28 mi (45 km)
Basin features
CitiesCovington
Tributaries 
 • leftAbita River

The Bogue Falaya rises in southwestern Washington Parish and flows generally south-southeastwardly through western St. Tammany Parish, past Covington, where it collects the Abita River.[4] It joins the Tchefuncte River about 10 miles (16 km) upstream of that river's mouth at Lake Pontchartrain.[2]

The name is derived from the Choctaw words bogu, “river,” and falaya, "long."[5][6]

A portion of the Bogue Falaya in St. Tammany Parish has been designated a "Natural and Scenic River" by the state government of Louisiana.[3]

Variant names and spellings

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According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Bogue Falaya has also been known historically as:[7]

  • Bogue Falaia
  • Bogue Falaya River
  • Bogue Falia
  • Bogue Faliah
  • Bogue Fallaya
  • Bogue Faylia
  • Bogue Phalia
  • Bouge Filia
  • Bouge Filiah
  • Bougue Falaia
  • Buck-Palaya Arroyo
  • Long River

See also

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References

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  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed June 20, 2011
  2. ^ a b Columbia Gazetteer of North America entry Archived August 25, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (2002). State of Louisiana Water Quality Management Plan Archived 2006-10-09 at the Wayback Machine: Appendix B: Descriptions of Louisiana's Natural and Scenic Rivers (PDF)
  4. ^ DeLorme (2003). Louisiana Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-286-2
  5. ^ Bushnell, D.I. (1909). The Choctaw of Bayou Lacomb, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. Washington: Government Printing Office. p. 7. No copyright in the United States.
  6. ^ Leeper, Clare D'Artois (19 October 2012). Louisiana Place Names: Popular, Unusual, and Forgotten Stories of Towns, Cities, Plantations, Bayous, and Even Some Cemeteries. LSU Press. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-8071-4740-5.
  7. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Bogue Falaya