Barataria Bay

Inlet of the Gulf of Mexico in southeast Louisiana, 64 km/40 mi south of New Orleans. The shallow, island-filled bay joins the Gulf via Barataria Pass, which runs between Grand Isle and Grand Terre Island. Barataria is a centre for shrimping, crabbing, and muskrat trapping, and contains oil, natural gas, and sulphur deposits.

The main channel of the Mississippi River passes to the east, through its delta, and the bay is connected by a channel to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

History In the early 19th century, a group of privateers led by Jean and Pierre Lafitte operated a smuggling operation in the bay and surrounding bayous, attacking ships in the Gulf and disposing of their cargoes in New Orleans. Lafitte (population (1990) 1,500), north of the bay, is said to be the site of their original settlement.