Lake Pontchartrain

Lake Pontchartrain ( in English; Lac Pontchartrain, IPA [lak pɔ̃ʃaʀtʀɛ̃] in French) is a brackish lake in southeastern Louisiana. It is the second largest salt-water lake in the United States, after the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and the largest lake in Louisiana. 

It has an area of 630 square miles (1630 square km) with an average depth of 12 to 14 feet (about 4 meters). Some shipping channels are kept deeper through dredging. It is roughly oval in shape, about 40 miles (64 km) wide and 24 miles (39 km) from south to north.

Other websites

 Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation
 United States Geological Survey Lake Pontchartrain Fact Sheet
 Real-time water data for Lake Pontchartrain
 The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation
 New Orleans history of the lake
 Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum
 USGS Environmental Atlas of Lake Pontchartrain
 New Orleans District Water Management  
 Washington Post article alleging levee faults, 21 Sept 2005
 National Geographic article about the levees, 2 Sept. 2005
 Salon article about disaster predictions, 31 Aug 2005
 U.S. Geological Survey article about the Lake Pontchartrain Basin, 3 Nov 1995
 BBC article about environmental effects on the lake after the flooding of New Orleans, 8 Sept. 2005

Category:Geography of Louisiana
Category:Lakes of the United States