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Avery Island is a salt dome located in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, United States, about three miles (5 km) inland from Vermilion Bay, which in turn opens onto the Gulf of Mexico. It is surrounded on all sides by bayous (narrow, slow-moving muddy rivers), salt marsh, and swampland; it sits about 140 miles (225 km) west of New Orleans. The island was formerly known as Petite Anse Island. (Petite Anse means "Little Cove" in the local Cajun dialect.)
It is famous for being the place where Tabasco sauce is manufactured. The Confederate Army used the Island for salt production, until it was captured by Union forces in 1863.
The island is also home to Jungle Gardens, a well-known bird sanctuary and set of gardens, where each spring thousands of snowy white egrets and other migratory water birds return to nest.
At its highest point, the Island is about 160 feet (49 m) above sea level; it covers about 2,200 acres (9 km²) and is about 2.5 miles (4 km) across at its widest point.
The island was created by the upwelling of ancient evaporite (salt) deposits that exist beneath the Mississippi delta region. These upwellings are known as salt domes. Avery island is one of five salt dome islands that rise above the flat Louisiana Gulf coast.
Access to the island requires a toll of fifty cents; toll is paid only on entrance to the island.
Avery Island was also the source of inspiration for Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel's On Avery Island.
"Avery Island"