Pontchartrain, Lake

Pontchartrain, Lake (pŏn`chərtrān), shallow lake, c.630 sq mi (1,630 sq km), 41 mi (66 km) long and 25 mi (40 km) wide, SE La., N of New Orleans. It is linked with Lake Maurepas at its western end and with the Gulf of Mexico at its eastern end through Lake Borgne. Tidal and brackish, the lake forms a popular resort and recreational region. The Bonnet Carre Spillway diverts part of the floodwaters of the Mississippi River into Pontchartrain. Two causeways, each c.24 mi (40 km) long, connect New Orleans with Covington, La.; the long, multispan Pontchartrain Causeway II opened in 1969.

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Pontchartrain, Lake

Lake, southeastern Louisiana, U.S. It is 40 mi (64 km) long and 25 mi (40 km) wide, with an area of 630 sq mi (1,631 sq km). More a tidal lagoon than a lake, it is brackish and teems with game fish. It is connected through Lake Borgne with the Gulf of Mexico and by canal with the Mississippi River. It is spanned by the Pontchartrain Causeway, two parallel road bridges which cross the lake north of New Orleans and, at nearly 24 mi (39 km) in length, are the longest overwater bridges in the world.