Rigolets

The strait begins at 30°10′40″N 89°44′40″W / 30.17778°N 89.74444°W 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. Along with nearby Chef Menteur Pass, the Rigolets connects Lake Pontchartrain and Lake St. Catherine in Louisiana to Lake Borgne, and then to the Gulf of Mexico. It forms the boundary between New Orleans (Orleans Parish) and St. Tammany Parish.

Tidal pass

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 have been proposals to construct floodgates to try to protect the city, especially since the destructiveness of hurricanes in the early 21st century.