Mile 458.8 - Eagle Lake Pass

John Ruskey

20 Apr 2026 � 2 min read

LBD 458.8 Eagle Lake Pass

At the South end of the tornado cut and several miles downstream of Chotard/Terrapin Cut-Off is the mouth of the Eagle Lake Pass, left bank descending 458.8. At low water this is nothing more than a ditch through the scraggly tornado ravaged woods. At medium water you can paddle in a short ways but might have to portage over fallen trees and a beaver dam. At high water you can work your way two miles through this wildlife-filled chute to where it opens up into a small lake at the base of the levee. This lake is a hotbed of bird life, fish and amphibians. It is also a known alligator habitat. You will see many random pieces of wood floating about. When you see a piece of driftwood that slides through the water on its own volition you will have found the American alligator!

Over the levee from this small lake is one of the most beautiful lakes in all the Lower Mississippi River Valley, Eagle Lake. Eagle Lake was formed when Terrapin Neck collapsed and was cut off in 1866. Its shape is reminiscent of a giant eyeball. Maybe it is the eye of the Delta. Eagle Lake makes a sharp hairpin curve literally turning back on itself around the point of land found in its iris. The far eastern end of Eagle Lake connects to Steele Bayou which has as its headwaters at another oxbow lake, Lake Whittington (above Greenville). Not far downstream Steele Bayou confluences with the Big Sunflower and the rivers flow together into the Yazoo 10 miles above Vicksburg. The bald eagle is making a comeback around its namesake lake. It is also seen in the big trees along the main channel of the Mississippi near Brown’s Point, or consuming a fish or turtle along one of the river sandbars.

“On March 7, 1866, the cutoff that had been predicted for more than half a century finally occurred. Terrapin Neck had narrowed until it was only about 30 feet wide, and the channel that the river cut across it enlarged very rapidly. On March 28 it was reported that the little steamer Ada Norvell had come down through the new cutoff instead of taking the bendway, and her captain said he believed the new channel was now safe for all boats.

“Eagle Bend soon silted up at both ends and became the oxbow lake that is called Eagle Lake. For many years, Eagle Lake was widely known among sportsmen as one of the finest fishing lakes in the South, but pollution has created many problems in recent years. The swamps and forests that made the vicinity of Eagle Bend an ideal habitat for the Bald Eagle were cleared away, and the use of agricultural chemicals on the surrounding plantations contaminated the waters of the lake. A control structure designed to prevent pollution is now under construction by the Army Corps of Engineers. Sportsmen hope that when the structure is completed, the lake will recover most of its former productivity.” (Historic Names & Places)

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