A bayou is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area, and can either be an extremely slow-moving stream or river, or a marshy lake, or wetland. They are most commonly found in the Gulf Coast region of the southern United States, in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas. Bayous are often anabranches or minor braids of a braided channel that are slower than the mainstem, often becoming boggy and stagnant. They are home to a variety of fauna, including crawfish, certain species of shrimp, other shellfish, catfish, frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, American alligators, American crocodiles, herons, lizards, turtles, tortoises, spoonbills, snakes, and leeches, as well as many other species. The term "Bayou Country" is most closely associated with Cajun and Creole cultural groups derived from French settlers and stretching along the Gulf Coast from Houston, Texas, to Mobile, Alabama, and picking back up in South Florida around the Everglades, with its center in New Orleans, Louisiana. Bayous are often associated with the homelands of certain Choctaw tribal groups.