The Mississippi River, the third longest river in North America and one of the world’s major rivers in terms of habitat diversity, flows over 2,000 miles and passes through 10 different states in the United States. Even with its massive size, there has been an ongoing problem and scares that the Mississippi might be taken over by a river called the Atchafalaya. By being taken over, it is meant that there was a navigation lock in the Mississippi River where ships can escape that descends about 30 feet which is drawing off more and more water from the river as years go by. Naturally, the water of the Mississippi’s current flows that direction, and has made a waterscape known as the Atchafalaya.
Louisiana itself has been shaped and formed by
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Even though the navigation of ships along the river used to be very difficult, as advancements in river transportation made huge leaps, there was a significant increase in the amount of steamboats traveling along the Mississippi in the early 1800’s. Most traveled to New Orleans for purposes related to trade, and thus New Orleans’s major reliance on the navigation of the Mississippi River began. Many industries were built along the coast of the Mississippi and had come for navigational convenience and fresh water. These businesses did not stay because of the probability of flooding and the river taking over the coast. A major shift in nature was becoming a hazard to all of Louisiana. Because navigation on the Mississippi was still more difficult than it should be, Congress proposed money to survey the river and found that snags had been causing the navigation problems. Altogether, Congress spent over 3 million dollars on the removal of snags, and special snag boats were even constructed for raising and cutting the …show more content…
Army Corps of Engineering that resembled a five hundred and sixty six mile long bridge, but was actually built as a channel between the Mississippi and Atchafalaya to control the flow of water so that only 30% of the Mississippi’s water volume was flowing into the Atchafalaya. This artificial meander also served the purpose of controlling the flows of the Mississippi so that it doesn’t change course, and the water is directed into the Atchafalaya. The water flowing through the new Old River flowed significantly fast, and most people underestimated the strength of the water on the waterless bridge. It was constructed with a high sill and a low sill, where the low sill dealt with the water every day, and the high sill was meant to regulate the flow of extremely high water, and could restrict waters two feet above the flood
Flooding of the settlement was problematic. By 1812, the settlers had built miles of levees on the banks of the river. For the next two hundred years, the surrounding wetlands were drained to eliminate swamps filled with yellow fever carrying mosquitoes and to encourage economic development. Draining water from peaty soils encouraged subsidence. The land which was just inches above sea level to begin with steadily sank. In combat of this, higher and stronger levees were built, tightening the straight jacket already placed upon the Mississippi River. The massive flooding of 1928 brought further flood control systems implemented by the Army Corps of Engineers with Congressional blessing. By the 1950’s, dramatic rates of land loss in Louisiana’s coastal zone stretched across 300 miles from Texas to Mississippi and inland 50 miles. (Tibbetts)
Mississippi has a very rich history, and its history has made it the glorious state it is today.
The Old River flows from the Mississippi to the Atchafalaya River. To regulate this flow, the Old River is dammed by the Old River Control Structure, which is an effort by the Army Corps to keep the Mississippi River from giving most of its water to the Atchafalaya River. If that were to occur, Morgan City (a town of 12,000 that sits on the banks of the Atchafalaya River) would be underwater and New Orleans would lose its most vital asset in the Mississippi River. To New Orleans, the Mississippi River means financial success, as New Orleans is a transportation hub. Baton Rouge, the state capital of Louisiana, also sits on the banks of the Mississippi River. Baton Rouge originally had an economy based on natural gas, to which the river was vital in a transportation aspect. Now, the state capital has an economy with many different sectors. Marucci Sports, best known for making baseball bats, calls Baton Rouge home. The Atchafalaya River would struggle to support economies that require transportation like the Mississippi River, as it doesn’t run the length of the United States. The Atchafalaya River is 137 miles long, compared to the Mississippi’s 2,320 miles, running from where the Red River and Old River meet all the way to the Atchafalaya Bay. The Atchafalaya Bay is connected directly to the Gulf of Mexico, which differs from the Mississippi River’s situation
Ten miles up from the navigation lock, they thought the sediments were firmer so they dug into a piece of dry ground and built what looked like an incongruous, waterless bridge. Five hundred and sixty-six feet long, it stood parallel to the Mississippi and about a thousand yards back from the water: between its abutments were ten piers, framing eleven gates that could be lifted or dropped, opened or shut like
The Mississippians got their name because a bunch of their artifacts were found near the Mississippi river. They were the most advanced group, out of the other pre-contact groups. They were more advanced because they had better technology. Examples of their technology would be; advanced farming, a new way to fish, pottery, larger cities, and a new use for mounds.
a canoe or kayak trip, the Ogeechee Tiver is a great place to spend an afternoon outdoors. Put a boat in one of the many landings or stay along the banks; anyone with a fishing license can fish legally along the banks of public rivers. Find your lucky fishing hole as the river is filled with red breast, suckers, shad, rock crappie, bass, and catfish. Enjoy the scenic views of high bluffs and wildlife as you drift down the river that runs wild across the flat land of Jenkins County. Public access to the river is available at the Bull Hole located in the Herndon Community, Scarboro Landing located at the Scarboro Community just off Highway 17 South, Old
Congress decided to take action and ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to build a control structure that would restrict the flow down the Atchafalaya River to 30% instead of it channeling all of the Mississippi River. The goal of restricting the flow of the Atchafalaya was to maintain the Mississippi River’s current route and prevent the merging of the Atchafalaya and Mississippi River. During the Corps attempts to maintain river control, a large flood threated to destroy the main structure the Corps had created. After the flood occurred, the Corps went back to the drawing board and redesigned a more efficient control system called the Old River Control Structure, otherwise known as ORCS. The Old River Control Structure was a lock and dam used to control and maintain the flooding of the Atchafalaya River. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed the Old River Control Structure in 1963 placing it in a side channel of the Mississippi known as the Old River, between the Mississippi’s current channel
The location of the city has always been very low in relation to the sea level, but the amount of human growth and expansion has caused the city to sink deeper into the landscape. When New Orleans was originally being laid out they were in short supply of good, usable
At the beginning of the month we stopped at the sweetwater river crossing because the land was ideal for camping and lavish for the animals. At nightfall we were attacked by another tribe of native americans, this battle was faster although more meaningful because 7 of my close friends died in the battle. Joseph and Tom both died in the battle leaving Tom, Dave and I left in the council. Joseph's death was early on in the battle, him and his family were slaughtered horrifically as joseph was fighting off the indians he watched as his daughter was decapitated and wife's throat was cut open as she screamed and pleaded, Joseph upon watching was distracted from the task at hand and was stabbed in the stomach and was left to bleed to death on the
The outflow channel was dig between the two rivers in the path of the former Upper Old River. The overbank structure did just what it sounds like. It’s a large dam the spans over the land. It has large levees on each side to keep the river separate but in the event that the Mississippi River was out of its banks they could open the overbank structure and continue to allow water to the Atchafalaya River as well as relieve the stress on the Mississippi River. This potentially saved the Mississippi River from breaching its banks and flooding the city of New Orleans. In 1973 a massive flood plagued the area and sent the Mississippi river over its banks. The overbank structure opened and began letting massive amounts of water flow into the Atchafalaya. The flood of 1973 nearly caused the downfall of the Old River Control Structure. During the flood a large hole opened up causing the Low Sill Dam to partially collapse. The Army Corps was able to dump large amounts of rock behind the dam in order to prevent a complete failure. Had the dam failed the Mississippi river would have changed course causing thousands of miles of southern Louisiana swampland to become completely flooded. Following the flood of 1973 the U.S. Army Corps were able to repair the dam and restore original flow rates. In order to prevent failure in the case of a future flood that began renovations and additions to the
Ali Ware Mrs. Buckley English I 14 February 2018 The Evolution of the Mississippi Delta The Mississippi Delta is a region 200 miles long and 85 miles wide. Home to the most fertile soil in the world, the Delta-Yazoo Basin Region is a rare place.
The artist is trying to communicate a feeling of achievement. Being that there was a suggested battle the day before, their existence still suggests that the battle was won . Additionally, a cross is being planted in the bottom right of the corner as a claim on the land. The Indians are surrounded and seemingly defenseless and defeated. An emotion of accomplishment exists within the already mentioned elements of the painting. In addition to the drive for the emotion of accomplishment, the reaching of the Mississippi suggests an accomplishment in as of itself . This painting was commissioned in 1853 and two years later hung in 1855. This painting was extremely important within the historical context of the 1850s. During this time, the country
This will my paper about the state of Mississippi’s history, and what happen in Mississippi history the made the state what it is today. I will be using information from the internet and from a person that at one time lived in Mississippi. In this essay I will try to be as honest as I possibly can.
Do you know what the definition of Atchafalaya is? It’s a river two hundred and twenty five miles (three hundred and sixty-two kilometers) S Louisiana flowing S into Atchafalaya Bay (inlet of the Gulf of Mexico). IT’s actually pretty interesting. The Atchafalaya is a distributary of the Mississippi. Around the late ninetieth century and early twentieth century a flood happened in Mississippi causing the Atchafalaya River to increase its size of the channel and the carrying capacity. That is until concern started worrying the people because it might capture most of the flow and redirect the Mississippi once again. The congress then directed the U.S. Army of Engineers (Corps) to build a structure to control the water flow. The U.S. Army of Engineers
Fish for example, also move in the direction the river current is moving which makes it easier to catch the fish (White, Page 15). Plants also thrive when they have an abundant amount of water. Being near water means it does not have to be transported a big distance which is easier on the person or animal moving the water. The ground is also moister being near since the ground around it is eroding and absorbing the water. The Fertile Crescent region is where the most fertile soil was for agricultural use. Plants thrived in this area because of the soil fertility and the amount of fresh water that was readily available since the Fertile Crescent is located on several important water features. Having fresh water available, led to wild edible