Sabine Lake

The Sabine Lake is a 364 km ² large body of water, which is formed by the confluence of the Sabine River and Neches River. After the usual definitions of the waters is a lagoon, but it is usually called a lake. It is about 22 kilometers long and 11 kilometers wide. The salty water flows through the Sabine Pass into the Gulf of Mexico. At the lagoon, the Jefferson County, Texas, Orange County, Texas, and Cameron Parish, Louisiana borders. The town of Port Arthur in Texas is located on the shores of Sabine Lake. The state border of Texas and Louisiana goes through the middle of the lake.

The Sabine Lake and the surrounding marshland are popular for fishing trips.

History

The area around the lagoon has been inhabited for about 1500 years. Europeans first came here, around 1777, when the British under Captain George Gauld mapped the lake. This was followed by several Spanish expeditions.

Although the discharge of the Sabine River was too shallow for ocean-going vessels, the lagoon is an important trading point was in 1800. Across the lagoon were smuggled in 1810 by Jean Laffite slaves to Louisiana - until today there are legends that he had left gold hiding on the banks. In the 1830s the Sabine Lake was again at a transit point for contraband, mostly slaves. Before the Civil War cotton steamer sailed regularly the water of the lake, and lumberjack inspired in their logs to the lake.

Later parts of the lake were excavated as part of a canal system. In the 1940s, the lake was searched a large area for oil.