Port Eads, Louisiana, is located at the southern tip of the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

, also known as South Pass in Plaquemines Parish. It is the southern most point in Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

.

James Buchanan Eads

The Mississippi River in the 100-mile-plus stretch between the port of New Orleans, Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico frequently suffered from silting up of its outlets, stranding ships or making parts of the river unnavigable for a period of time. James Buchanan Eads

James Buchanan Eads

Captain James Buchanan Eads was a world-renowned American civil engineer and inventor, holding more than fifty patents.-Early life and education:...

 (1820–1887) solved the problem with a wooden jetty system that narrowed the main outlet of the river, which caused the river to speed up and cut its channel deeper, so allowing year-round navigation. He was thus honored by having the port at South Pass named after him.

Hurricane Katrina

The port was completely devastated by Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...

. Very little remained except the lighthouse and a few very lucky fishing camps. Two persons who rode out the storm there have yet to be heard from and are presumed dead.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency

Federal Emergency Management Agency

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...

 (FEMA) originally obligated $400,000 to rebuild the Port Eads Marina after Katrina. Parish President Billy Nungesser

Billy Nungesser

William Harold "Billy" Nungesser is the President of Plaquemines Parish in suburban New Orleans, Louisiana. A Republican, Nungesser was re-elected in the 2010 general election, defeating two other candidates with more than 71% of the vote. His second term began on January 1, 2011...

 took office in 2007. He felt the $400,000 was insufficient and he personally traveled to Washington, D.C. and appealed the amount. In early 2009, FEMA authorized $12 million for the project.

Geography

Port Eads coordinates are 29.016N, 89.161W.

At the Head of Passes

Head of Passes

Head of Passes is where the main stem of the Mississippi River branches off into three distinct directions at its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico: Southwest Pass , Pass A Loutre and South Pass...

, the river separates into three main fingers. Port Eads is found at the bottom of the center branch. A lighthouse

Lighthouse

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....

 there serves ocean going ships. It is accessible only by boat and helicopter.

It is used primarily by offshore fishermen who begin their journey in Venice, Louisiana

Venice, Louisiana

Venice is an unincorporated community in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is 130 km south of New Orleans on the west bank of the Mississippi River at . It is the last community down the Mississippi accessible by automobile, and is the southern terminus of the Great River Road...

, 20.3 miles to the north. Port Eads offers docking and refueling premises, primitive rooms for rent, weigh station, and a small restaurant. Because of its location, offshore fishermen from around the country flock to Port Eads. It is the closest port to the continental shelf

Continental shelf

The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each continent and associated coastal plain. Much of the shelf was exposed during glacial periods, but is now submerged under relatively shallow seas and gulfs, and was similarly submerged during other interglacial periods. The continental margin,...

, the 100 fathom

Fathom

A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems, used especially for measuring the depth of water.There are 2 yards in an imperial or U.S. fathom...

 curve, in the entire Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

. The shelf is five miles from the port.

Arts and culture

Each June, the New Orleans Invitational Billfish Tournament is held there. There have been two one-thousand pound blue marlin

Blue marlin

Blue marlin may refer to:* Atlantic blue marlin, Makaira nigricans* Indo-Pacific blue marlin, Makaira mazara, whether or not it is a separate species from Makaira nigricans is currently debated* MV Blue Marlin, a heavy transport ship...

caught by boats using Port Eads, representing the only two "granders" caught on record in the Gulf of Mexico.