Rigolets

Rigolets
Tidal strait
19th-century Rigolets lighthouse in 2004. It was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Tributaries
- left	Old Pearl River
- right	Sawmill Pass
Source	Lake Pontchartrain
- coordinates	30°10′40″N 89°44′40″W / 30.177778°N 89.744444°W / 30.177778; -89.744444
Mouth	Lake Borgne
- coordinates	30°09′16″N 89°37′31″W / 30.154444°N 89.625278°W / 30.154444; -89.625278Coordinates: 30°09′16″N 89°37′31″W / 30.154444°N 89.625278°W / 30.154444; -89.625278
Length	8 mi (13 km)
U.S. Geological Survey map 1982

The Rigolets is a 12.9 kilometer (8 mi) long strait in Louisiana. "Rigolets" comes from the word rigole, French for "trench" or "gutter." The name is now locally pronounced "RIG-uh-leez." It begins at 30°10′40″N 89°44′40″W / 30.17778°N 89.74444°W / 30.17778; -89.74444 and follows a generally eastward course to Lake Borgne, a lagoon in the Gulf of Mexico, and finally to the Gulf of Mexico, where it ends at 30°09′16″N 89°37′31″W / 30.15444°N 89.62528°W / 30.15444; -89.62528. Along with nearby Chef Menteur Pass, the Rigolets connects Lake Pontchartrain and Lake St. Catherine to Lake Borgne, and then to the Gulf of Mexico. It forms the boundary between New Orleans (Orleans Parish) and St. Tammany Parish.

As a deepwater tidal pass, the Rigolets helps supply salt water from the Gulf to Lake Pontchartrain. Tidal scouring has produced a deep pit in the lake at the western mouth of the strait. Since the Rigolets is a channel through which Gulf storm surges can approach the New Orleans area, there are proposals to construct floodgates.