U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Open-File Report 2019–1030

Potential Sea Level Rise on Chitimacha Tribal Lands in Louisiana

By

Kathryn A. Spear,1 William Jones,1 Kereen Griffith,1 Blair E. Tirpak,1 and Kimberly Walden2

2019

1

U.S. Geological Survey

2

The Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana

Prepared in cooperation with The Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana;

Gulf Coast Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative

Study area

N

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EXPLANATION

2 feet

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Sea level rise (SLR)

Chitimacha Tribal Lands

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Bayou Teche

CharentonCharentonCharenton

Baldwin

West Atchafalaya Basin Spillway levee

182

87

90

Bayou Teche

Charenton

Baldwin

West Atchafalaya Basin Spillway levee

182

87

90

Base from United States Department of Agriculture

National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2015

Universal Transverse Mercator zone: 15

North American Datum of 1983

Central Meridian: -93 00

4-band, 1-meter

29°55'

29°54'

29°53'

29°52'

29°51'

29°50'

29°49'

91°35' 91°34' 91°33' 91°32' 91°31' 91°30' Introduction

Situated in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain of the Gulf 

Coast Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GCP 

LCC), the Chitimacha Tribe is one of four federally 

recognized tribes in Louisiana. The Tribal seat, trust lands/

reservation, and adjacent Tribal owned lands are located 

near Charenton, Louisiana, totaling nearly 1,000 acres. The 

Chitimacha, with a population of approximately 1,400 people, 

are currently impacted by storm surge, which is expected 

to increase with climate change. The additional stress from 

storms will likewise increase the vulnerability to catastrophic 

impact in the event of a breach in the Atchafalaya Basin 

Spillway levee. A collaborative effort between the U.S. 

Geological Survey (USGS) and the Chitimacha Tribe has 

been initiated to provide resources and expertise to increase 

the Tribe’s ability to prevent, plan, and prepare for these 

environmental challenges. By enhancing technical skills, 

providing access to environmental data, and increasing 

awareness of environmental issues, the Chitimacha will 

be better prepared to plan and adapt to the environmental 

impacts facing their lands related to land use and 

climate change.

For this project, USGS researchers asked how 

Chitimacha Tribal Lands might be impacted by future sea 

level rise scenario projections. These models illustrate some 

flooding within the northernmost boundary of Chitimacha 

Tribal Lands. 

Methods and Data

This map of the Chitimacha Tribal Lands and surrounding 

area illustrates the magnitude of potential flooding resulting 

from future sea level rise at 2 feet, 4 feet, and 6 feet above 

current sea level. These projections do not account for 

unusual high tide and storm surge events, which could 

lead to increased flooding. Sea level rise data for this map 

display were downloaded from the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office for Coastal 

Management through the NOAA Sea Level Rise Viewer 

(NOAA, 2012; https://coast.noaa.gov/slr). Existing 

waterbodies visible in the imagery and derived from the 

high-resolution version of the USGS National Hydrography 

dataset (USGS, 2013), such as streams/rivers, canals/ditches, 

lakes/ponds, and so on, were removed from the NOAA sea 

level rise layers and appear in this map to delineate the sea 

level rise projections surrounding them. Contours were 

added to show elevation ranges at 10, 12, and 14 feet. These 

contours were created from a 15-meter bare-earth digital 

elevation model developed from the USGS 3D Elevation 

Program Coastal National Elevation Dataset (USGS, 2017) 

topographic model of the Northern Gulf of Mexico.

References

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

2012, Sea level rise viewer: 1-6 ft sea level rise inundation 

extent: Accessed March 18, 2016, at http://www.coast.noaa.

gov/slr.

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), 2013, National 

Hydrography geodatabase: The National Map viewer: 

Accessed March 18, 2016, at https://nhd.usgs.gov/.

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), 2017, 3DEP products and 

services: Accessed March 18, 2016, at https://nationalmap.

gov/3DEP/3dep_prodserv.html.

For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth,

its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment—visit

https://www.usgs.gov/ or call 1–888–ASK–USGS (1–888–275–8747).

For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications,

visit http://store.usgs.gov/.

Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply

endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may

contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items

must be secured from the copyright owner.

Suggested citation:

Spear, K.A., Jones, W., Griffith, K., Tirpak, B.E., and Walden, K., 2019, Potential sea level rise on 

Chitimacha Tribal Lands in Louisiana: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2019–1030,

1 sheet, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20191030.

ISSN 2329-132X (online)

https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20191030