Lake Pontchartrain

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Surface Area
1839.00km2
Drainage Area
14200.00km2
Average Daily Freshwater Inflow
303.00m3/s
Average Depth
3.00m
Average Salinity
2.00

From: USEPA, 1999; USGS, 2003
Lake Pontchartrain is located north of the city of New Orleans. Lake Pontchartrain and its adjacent lakes in Louisiana (Lake Maurepas, Lake Borgne) form one of the largest estuaries in the Gulf Coast region. The estuary drains the Pontchartrain Basin, an area of over 12,000 sq. km situated on the eastern side of the Mississippi River delta plain (USEPA, 1999). Lake Maurepas and Lake Pontchartrain are bounded by landmasses and coastal marshlands, and Lake Borgne is open to the east and connects directly with Mississippi Sound.

Lake Pontchartrain and its Basin offer opportunities for fishing, crabbing, swimming, and boating, but are today described as Louisiana's most environmentally impacted estuary. Coordinated efforts are currently underway to restore the environmental quality of the Basin.

References

  • USEPA. 1999. Ecological condition of estuaries in the Gulf of Mexico. EPA 620-R-98-004. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Gulf Ecology Division, Gulf Breeze, Florida. 80 pp.

  • USGS. Environmental Atlas of the Lake Ponchartrain Basin. Located on the web at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2002/of02-206/intro/intro.html

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