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The Spanish Lake Basin is an ancient backwater swamp of the Mississippi River. It is part of the 16-parish Lake Pontchartrain Basin that covers Southeast Louisiana. The basin's nutrient-rich waters, lush vegetation and numerous species of trees and plants nurture wildlife, purify waters, check the destructive powers of floods and storms, and provide people with the opportunity to enjoy and learn from nature.
Four adjacent habitats, rising from the open water of bayous and lakes to swamps, bottomland-hardwood forests and distributary ridges, compose a rich, diverse and important ecosystem.
Located on the Mississippi River Flyway, the 17,000-acre Spanish Lake Basin is visited by many neo-tropical migrants including pelicans, ibis, cormorants and roseate spoonbills. The Basin is an important place for these birds to rest and fish during their migratory flights between Canada and Central/South America. As many as 300 species of birds visit and live in these bayous, swamps and forests. While egrets and herons lunge for fish, alligators sunbathe on fallen logs and red-shouldered hawks and bald eagles soar over the tops of moss-draped cypress trees.
The Spanish Lake Basin is a refuge for a diverse array of wildlife including many species of reptiles, amphibians, mammals and fish.
Centuries ago, the Spanish Lake Basin was noted by Iberville, Louisiana's first explorer, and the famed naturalist William Bartram for its beautiful trees and abundant wildlife. Today this is one of few remaining wetlands of it's kind in the Lower Mississippi River Valley.
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