Barataria Bay (French:Baie de Barataria), alsoBarrataria Bay, is abay of theGulf of Mexico, about 15 miles (24 km) long and 12 miles (19 km) wide, in southeasternLouisiana, inJefferson Parish andPlaquemines Parish,United States. It is separated from the gulf by twobarrier islands,Grand Isle and Grand Terre.[1]
The bay takes its name from theSpanish novelDon Quixote, in which theinsula Barataria, or Barataria island, appears as a fictional territory governed bySancho Panza.[2][3]
The bay is indented and marshy, with many islands. The surrounding low-lying Barataria country, south of New Orleans and west of theMississippi River Delta, is noted for its shrimp industry (based at villages built on pilings above the coastal marshes), muskrat trapping, natural gas wells, oil wells, and sulfur production. Itsinlet is connected to theGulf Intracoastal Waterway system.[1]
Barataria Bay was used in the early 19th century as the base ofpirates,privateers, andsmugglers led by the pirateJean Lafitte.[4] They were referred to as theBaratarians.
Today the bay is a notable source ofshrimp andsulfur, as well as ofmuskratfur,natural gas, andpetroleum.
UntilHurricane Betsy made landfall in 1965, Barataria Bay was home toManila Village.[5]
Barataria Bay along with Biloxi Marsh, Pointe-au-Chien and Adam’s Bay since 2014 have been part of an oyster shell recycling program to build reefs and protect against erosion and create marine habitats.[6]
On 27 July 2010, the tugboatPere Ana C. struck an abandoned wellhead owned by Houston-based Cedyco Corp, while pulling a barge near Bayou St. Denis in Barataria Bay, causing a 20-to-100-foot (6.1 to 30.5 m) oil and gas geyser.[7][8]
The geyser was brought under control and the wellhead was repaired and capped on 1 August 2010, five days after the collision.[9][10]
29°22′27″N89°56′17″W / 29.37411°N 89.93813°W /29.37411; -89.93813
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