Mile 82.6 - 82.6 - 81.6 Poydras Crevasse

82.6 - 81.6 Poydras Crevasse

Map aficionados will notice an unusual wide spot in the batture is found at Poydras, East Bank between 82.6 and 81.6, where the levee veers away from the river for a mile, and then returns back again. The levee broke here in the flood of 1922, and the hydraulic scouring here left blue holes and lowlands that cannot support the weight of a levee. As result a small but vibrant wetlands was created by this anomaly. The rip-rap is unbroken along Poydras Crevasse, but paddlers seeking wind or storm protection from the south or southeast would find good low-water camping along this mile-long stretch of woods. In higher waters you can follow a narrow channel of water that flows along the levee behind the woods & wetlands following the perimeter of the crevasse, to re-enter the big river a mile downstream.

The Poydras community was on the western boundary of the area that early settlers called "Terre aux Boeufs," where about 1,500 Canary Islanders settled under Spanish rule in 1778 and 1779. The small farmers were given supplies and tools and implements by the Spanish government. They used oxen to pull their plows and wagons, and the French phrase "Terre aux Boeufs" meant "Land of Oxen." All of the Canary Islanders spoke Spanish, and were called "Islenos" by the French settlers of Louisiana. The community of Poydras was virtually wiped out in 1922 by a crevasse in the levee that local interests had constructed. Less than half an hour before the levee collapsed, an inspector had examined the levee and said that it was in excellent condition. The break at Poydras relieved a critical situation at New Orleans, causing the river stage there to fall .2 of a foot in the next 24 hours. The crevasse water spread rapidly over the small farms and citrus groves on the east bank of the river below Poydras. In New Orleans, the crevasse that had possibly saved the city from disaster, was the object of much curiosity and interest. Thousands of people travelled by automobile to Poydras to see the great crevasse. At Violet, Louisiana, cars were stopped and a donation of $1 was collected from each of the sightseers, to be used for flood relief. The steamboat Capitol was sent down from the city to assist in flood relief work. Refugees were taken from the levees and other high spots as far down as Pointe a la Hache. (Braggs)