Houston is drained by roughly 2,500 miles of bayous, creeks and channels, and the defining fact about them is how little they fall — Buffalo Bayou drops on the order of a foot per mile on its way to the ship channel, so the water moves slowly and the tide is felt well inland. That flatness is why the bayous meander so extravagantly across a city built on them, and why heavy rain has nowhere to go quickly. The word bayou reached English here through Louisiana French from the Choctaw bayuk, meaning a small stream.
Getting there
29.7600, -95.3850
Locations are approximate and may be inaccurate, on private land, or otherwise inaccessible. Check before you travel.
Hear it from the road
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