A cypress in the Atchafalaya Basin, Louisiana

Autumn in the cypress swamp

Autumn still brings a splash of colour to this hardwood forest of bald cypress in Louisiana. But make no mistake, a stroll through these wetlands is not a cozy New England leaf-peeping journey. The swamp forest floor is often covered by the waters of Atchafalaya River delta as it drains into the Gulf of Mexico, so the autumn colours here are best viewed from the seat of a canoe or a pirogue, as the local Cajuns use. The water-resistant bald cypress thriving in the Atchafalaya Basin constitutes the largest tract of contiguous cypress forest in the United States. The ecosystem here is so unlike any other in the U.S., the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area organization calls it ‘America’s foreign country.’