The Amite River /ˈeɪ.mit/ (French: Rivière Amite) is a tributary of Lake Maurepas in Mississippi and Louisiana in the United States. It is about 117 miles (188 km) long.[2] It starts as two forks in southwestern Mississippi and flows south through Louisiana, passing Greater Baton Rouge, to Lake Maurepas. The lower 37 miles (59.5 km) of the river is navigable. A portion of the river is diverted via the Petite Amite River and Amite Diversion Canal to the Blind River, which also flows to Lake Maurepas.
| Amite River | |
|---|---|
 An excursion steamer on the Amite River, ca. 1895 | |
 Amite River | |
| Etymology | French amitié ("friendship"), or Choctaw himmita ("young")[1] |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| States | |
| Counties | |
| Parishes | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | West Fork Amite River |
| • location | Amite County, Mississippi |
| • coordinates | 31°19′19″N 90°43′40″W / 31.32194°N 90.72778°W |
| 2nd source | East Fork Amite River |
| • location | Lincoln County, Mississippi |
| • coordinates | 31°26′05″N 90°37′12″W / 31.43472°N 90.62000°W |
| Source confluence | |
| • location | St. Helena Parish and East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana |
| • coordinates | 30°59′38″N 90°50′06″W / 30.99389°N 90.83500°W |
| Mouth | Lake Maurepas |
• location | Livingston Parish, Louisiana |
• coordinates | 30°17′53″N 90°33′37″W / 30.29806°N 90.56028°W |
| Length | 117 mi (188 km) |
| Basin features | |
| Cities | |
| Tributaries | |
| • right | Comite River, Bayou Manchac |
Name
editAmite could be an name derived from the Choctaw language meaning "young", although folk etymology holds it to be a corruption of the French amitié meaning "friendship".[3]
Fishing
editA 3.09-kilogram (6.8 lb) white bass (Morone chrysops) was caught on August 27, 2010 on the Amite River in Louisiana by angler Corey Crochet, tying an International Game Fish Association world record.[4]
Gallery
edit-
An excursion steamer on the Amite River, c. 1895
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Baca, Keith A. (26 April 2019). Native American Place Names in Mississippi. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781604734836 – via Google Books.
- ^ "U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data". The National Map. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
- ^ Baca, Keith A. (2007). Native American Place Names in Mississippi. University Press of Mississippi. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-60473-483-6.
- ^ "Bass, white (Morone chrysops)". The International Game Fish Association. Retrieved 16 July 2023.