Neptune's Needle

Shallow brackish-water lake (area; c.630 sq miles), SE La., N of New Orleans, an extension of the Gulf of Mexico; 41 miles long, 25 miles wide. Linked with L. Maurepas at its W end and with the gulf at its E end through L. Borgne. Tidal influenced. The Bonnet Carre Spillway can divert part of the floodwaters of the Mississippi R. during high floods into the lake at SW end; 2 causeways, each c.24 mi/40 km long, connect New Orleans (S) with Covington (N); the long, multispan Pontchartrain Causeway II, opened in 1969, allows for divided highway crossing, each span has 2 lanes for each direction of traffic. Popular resort and recreational region.

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Compiler

Peter Richards