The River Giveth, The River Taketh Away

Today we will spend a little time talking about the relationship between the Mississippi River and the city of New Orleans. Specifically, we'll explore the ongoing struggle between man and nature to make the place inhabitable.

Some links:

The Times-Picayune put together this nice flash animation about the creation of the land upon which the city now rests.

Here is an interesting page about the Old River Control system that went into operation in 1963 that kept the Mississippi River from diverting increasingly to the Atchafalaya River.

Here is a short T-P video from when the Corps of Engineers opened the Bonnet Carre Spillway several years ago to relieve the pressure on the city's levee system.



And here is the latest FEMA map showing flood zones in New Orleans. Notice the patterns referenced in the text?