[6] The Atchafalaya River is navigable and provides a significant industrial shipping channel for the state of Louisiana.

[9] In 1942 part of the flow of the Atchafalaya River was diverted through Wax Lake to the Gulf of Mexico further west.

Despite control efforts, some researchers believe the likelihood of this event increases each year due to natural forces inherent to river deltas.

[10] The Atchafalaya River meanders south as a channel of the Mississippi, through extensive levees and floodways, past Morgan City, and empties into the Gulf in Atchafalaya Bay approximately 15 miles (24 km) south of Morgan City.

Since the late 20th century, the river has been forming a new delta in the bay, the only place on the Louisiana coastline that is gaining ground rather than eroding.