Mile 255.0 - 255 - 254.2 LBD Thompson Creek Bluffs (Mississippi Loess Bluff #8)

255 - 254.2 LBD Thompson Creek Bluffs (Mississippi Loess Bluff #8)

While the smallest yet seen of the Mississippi Loess Bluffs, the Thompson Creek (or Port Hudson) Bluff is nevertheless easy to access and almost as interesting as any of the others. I am surprised by bald eagles almost every time I paddle past this area. Also a sanctuary for osprey and buck deer, paddlers can make landing along the base of this Eighth Bluff and explore it convoluted geology and fascinating biota. Cut by several small ravines, and rising 75 to 100 feet above the river (depending on water level), tall pines and deciduous trees crowd the loess ridge and provide habitat for a plethora of vines and underbrush. We found an extensive population of legumes along its base in Dec 2014, an invasive brought from India as a soil stabilizer called Showy Crotalaria (Crotalaria spectabilis). They were prolifically crowding the base of the bluffs 4-5 foot tall with oval shaped leaves, thick green stems, yellow flowers and thick but short beans. Crotalaria is another example of the river’s productivity, even with invasives. When something takes root on the Mississippi, it does it in a big way. Crotalaria are toxic to livestock, so you should avoid also.

Four miles to the east (LBD) is Port Hudson, scene of the longest siege in US military history, now just a name on the map, the port and town long gone because the river meandered away from the bluffs here.