The Atchafalaya River is a sidebranch of the Mississippi River of only 220 km that flows into the Gulf of Mexico. Despite being short, it is the firth largest river in the USA by discharge. The name "Atchafalaya" comes from the Choctaw Indian language for "long river", from hachcha, "river", and falaya, "long". Shown on the image is the Atchafalaya River delta, with two typical ‘birdfoot’ patterns visible. At these locations, the river deposits sand and clay particles and is the only part at the Louisianan coast that is gaining ground.