Lake Borgne

Lake Borgne is a lagoon of the Gulf of Mexico in southeastern Louisiana. Due to coastal erosion, it is no longer actually a lake but rather an arm of the Gulf of Mexico. Its name comes from the French word borgne, which means "one-eyed."

Geography

The three large lakes -- Maurepas, Pontchartrain, and Borgne—cover 55% of the Pontchartrain Basin. A brackish marsh land bridge and Lake St. Catherine separate Lake Pontchartrain from Lake Borgne. The Rigolets and Chef Menteur Pass are the two open water connections between Pontchartrain and Borgne.

Due to coastal erosion, Borgne is now a lagoon connecting to the Gulf of Mexico, but early 18th century maps show it as a lake largely separated from the Gulf by a considerable extent of wetlands which have since disappeared. In a 1902 case before the United States Supreme Court over the oyster banks at the boundary between Louisiana and Mississippi, the State of Mississippi argued that at the time of Louisiana's admission into the Union, there probably was no such "Lake Borgne" or "Mississippi Sound".

Borgne

Borgne (Haitian Creole: Obòy) is a commune in the north coast of Haiti, west of Cap-Haïtien and northwest of Limbé, in Nord Department. The economy there is based on agriculture and fishery. Other nearby places include Port-Margot, Robin, and Fond La Grange. Borgne is currently in the early stages of developing a "sister cities" relationship with Honeoye Falls, New York, United States.

References