Cypress Lake is a 2acre swamp-like lake in the heart of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus that started as a buffalo wallow. Today it is a unique university landmark that is a habitat for native irises, alligators, turtles, birds and fish, as well as a hangout for students and a point of interest for tourists visiting Lafayette, Louisiana. Cypress Lake is casually called "The Swamp," which is also the nickname of the Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns stadium, named Cajun Field.HistoryIn prehistoric times, buffalo herds wandering through the area stopped in the shade of the cypress grove, pawing and stomping at the ground. Eventually a depression in the ground formed from the buffalos. The grove, called a trou de taureau in Cajun French, or “bull hole,” began to retain water and form a pond.UL (est. 1898) grew up around the pond. Initially the university fenced it in to use as a pig pen and feeding area for its instructional farm. In the early 1920s, the pig pen was drained to return the 63 cypress trees into the newly named Cypress Grove. The university used the grove as an open-air theater for Shakespearean productions, music and dance programs. Commencement exercises were held beneath the cypress canopy in 1935 for the first time and several subsequent years when the weather permitted.
