Bayou Meto

Bayou Meto is an Arkansas watershed and wildlife management area extending seventy miles from its origins near Camp Robinson to its mouth on the Arkansas River southwest of Gillett. The bayou is known for its duck hunting and aquaculture.

"Meto" may be a corruption of the French word "mi-terre," meaning "semi-ground," as the stream flows roughly midway between the White and Arkansas rivers, and nearly parallel.

In July 1979 state health officials banned Arkansans from fishing, wading, and swimming in the watershed after dangerous amounts of dioxin were found in Bayou Meto.

References

• John C. Branner, "Some Old French Place Names in the State of Arkansas," Modern Language Notes 14 (February, 1899): 33-40.
• Bill Simmons, "The Spray: Dioxin Ends Recreation in Arkansas Bayou," The Lewiston Daily Sun, July 30, 1979.