Grassy Lake (Louisiana)
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| Grassy Lake | |
|---|---|
  Grassy Lake  Grassy Lake | |
| Location | St. Martin and Assumption, Parishes, Louisiana, US |
| Coordinates | 29°46′40″N 91°06′37″W / 29.7779°N 91.1104°W[1] |
| Type | Natural lake |
| Basin countries | United States (Watershed HUC 8080101) |
| Surface area | 414 ha (1,024 acres) |
| Average depth | 1.8 m (6 ft) |
| Max. depth | 2.7 m (9 ft) |
| Shore length1 | 12.400 km (7.705 mi) |
| Surface elevation | 0 m (0 ft)[2] |
| Settlements | Morgan City |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Grassy Lake is 1,024 acres (414 ha), a natural lake, and is located in St. Martin and Assumption, Parishes, Louisiana. The 246,000 acres (1,000 km2) of watershed includes Lake Verret, Lake Palourde, all draining into the Atchafalaya River, and finally the Gulf of Mexico. Grassy Lake is almost entirely in St. Martin Parish but Assumption Parish runs along the east side, just west of the shoreline.
At the turn of the century, late eighteenth to early twentieth, transportation to market of the crops, especially sugar cane, of the big plantation owners was a challenge. When water levels were high boats could travel on the bayous, lakes, canals, and rivers. Movement on some waterways would require assistance from teams of oxen. Levees would have a cordelle road built so the teams could pull the boats.[3] One way of transporting goods was by the approximately ten miles Attakapas Canal connecting Bayou Lafourche at Napoleonville to Lake Verret.[4] Access to the Atchafalya could then be from Lake Verret, Fourmile Bayou, Grassy Lake, through Simon or Persimmon passes, and Lake Palourde.[5]