10 



mvesti^Hlious were made incluck-s Vermilion Bay and its tribu- 

 taries lyii."- partly in Venuilion and partly in Iberia Parish, 

 and also' a portion of the Gnlf of Mexico, extending from a point 

 about six miles west of Southwest Pass, to the east end of Marsh 

 Mand Vermilion Bay is a body of water about twenty-five 

 miles Ion- and fifteen miles wid(^ It is separated ivoia the -ult 

 by a narrow strip of low, marshy land. Two communications 

 between the bay and -ulf exist; one of these, known as South- 

 west Pass, is a narrow inlet with a very deep channel; the other 

 outlet is through East and West Cote Blanche bays, on the 

 north sidi' of Mai-sh Island. 



Many small bayous empty into the bay on its northern and 

 western sides. Some of these bayous are outlets of extensive 

 canal systems that drain large areas of the low, swampy countrv 

 lying to the north of the region under consideration. 



The depth of the water in the bay varies from six to t"^vvlve 

 feet, being greater in the southern part than in the north^T^lie 

 bottom in the low,'^iuthern part of the bay, is soft, except in 

 places where natural or artificial beds of oysters exist. Over 

 the uppei- ])art of the bay the bottom is generally firm, only 

 isolated patches of soft bottom being found. In the south- 

 western eoi-ner of the l)ay there is another large area of finr. 

 bottom. 



The tidal current is strong in all pai'ts of the bay. The 

 force and direction of the current dei)ending more on the wind 

 than upon tlie diurnal rise and fall of the water. 



At the present time the only productive areas of any im- 

 portance in Vermilion Bay are included in what is essentially' 

 one large i-eef that extends in a northeasternly direction from 

 a point just inside of the entrance of Southwest Pass to a jioint" 

 about two miles southwest of Cypremoi't Point. Th.- depth o^ 

 water over thjs reef is from three to six feet, except at tlie 

 upper end, where there is an area about two acres in extent that 

 is exposed at very low tide. The width of this reef varies from 

 two hundi-ed to six hundred yards. At a number of ])oints th-"' 

 reef is traversed by a narrow channel. A prolongation of this 

 reef extends at a right angle to the main reef nearei- its north 

 end. This last reef is one-half mile long by one-fourth mile 

 wide. 



