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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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 …show more content…
It called for the construction of floodways that would push water away from the main stem to control flooding. It also sought to strengthen and raise the levees, refurbish the banks, and to aid navigation by training works and dredging. The plan assured the public that it would protect the lower Mississippi River from flooding even larger than the Great Flood of 1927. The Corps adopted cutoffs that shortened the Mississippi by over 150 miles by eliminating sharp curves call Greenville bends which lowered flood heights by 15 feet. They also built the Old River Control which was designed to divert 600,000 cubic feet of water from the Mississippi River to the Atchafalaya. In 1963 a large dam was also built to seal off the flow between the rivers. If this construction did not happen, it was feared that the Atchafalaya would capture the Mississippi, leaving New Orleans with no main channel, leaving the businesses that thrive there in a
John Adams Dam was built on another Genesee River tributary to form a recreational pond affecting 43.78 miles of river (Fish, n.d.). There is a small, unnamed barrier affecting 3.16 miles of Genesee River tributary in the center of the park. I assume that it had been used during the building of walkways or roads in the park; however, there is no documentation on the dam’s purpose.
The major physical legacy of the Great Mississippi Flood - an elaborate system of lower Mississippi River flood control measures that have confined larger floods - was recently in the news. Fast-forward to March 17, 1997, when the Army Corps of Engineers began diverting water around New Orleans for only the eighth time since 1927.
How is the Mississippi controlled ? How & why used ? Benefits Problems Levees Mounds of earth are built parallel to the river, along its banks. These contain the rising river in flood times and protect buildings along the valley on the flood plain behind. · Known & successful technology which follows nature (rivers deposit silt to build natural levees anyway) · Protect settlements ·
The Missisippi was also managed in New Orleans to limit flooding. This was done through levies that were at first naturally built by the river’s mud flows during floods. Later the levies were built higher and higher to keep the flooding Mississippi into the New Orleans area. But the levies were often ineffective in managing, or led to more flooding. Kelman explains this when they write “With the development in the Mississippi Valley ongoing and artificial banks confining more runoff inside the channel, the river set new high-water marks” (Pg 702). Yet this is not the only example of the failure of Mississippi river management. Only 10 years ago, New Orleans’ levies failed, an example of the inability to control the flooding.
New Orleans, LA is not just a tourist spot; it is one of the Festival full places in USA. The people celebrate dozens of festivals, No matter the option is, - unique food, music, or the historic event, New Orleans is always stands to celebrate that. There are many festivals all over the calendar year. I will, describe them by month wise. Let’s join me, for the journey in New Orleans, LA.
The years 1840 to 1890 were a period of great growth for the United States. It was during this time period that the United states came to the conclusion that it had a manifest destiny, that is, it was commanded by god to someday occupy the entire North American continent. One of the most ardent followers of this belief was President James K. Polk. He felt that the United States had the right to whatever amount of territory it chose to, and in doing this the United States was actually doing a favor for the land it seized, by introducing it to the highly advanced culture and way of life of Americans. Shortly after his election he annexed Texas. This added a great amount of land to the United States, but more was to follow. The Oregon Territory became a part of the United States is 1846, followed by the Mexican Cession in 1848 and the Gadsden Purchase in 1853. At this point the United States had accomplished its manifest destiny, it reached from east to west, from sea to shining sea. Now that the lands it so desired were finally there, the United States faced a new problem- how to get its people to settle these lands so they would actually be worth having. Realistically, it is great to have a lot of land, but if the land is unpopulated and undeveloped, it really isn't worth much. And the government of the United States knew this. One of the reasons that many did not choose to settle there immediately was that the lands were quite simply in the middle of nowhere. They were surrounded by mountains, inhabited by hostile Indians, and poor for farming. Because of these geographical conditions, the government was forced to intervene to coax its citizens into settling the new lands. Basically the lands were not settled because they were available, they were settled because of various schemes the government concocted to make them seem desirable.
Most of the destructions from the events of August 29th 2005, when Katrina Hit the City Of New Orleans, were not only caused by the storm itself; but also, by failure of the engineering of the levee system protecting the entire infrastructure of the city. The years of poor decision making and avoidance of the levee system led to one of the most catastrophic events in the history of the United States. Throughout our research, we have identified three key players in charge of the levee system design, construction and maintenance. These three organizations are the Unites States Corps of Engineers, the New Orleans Levee District and the Louisiana Department of Transportation. The consequences of the hurricane showed the organizations negligence in the design, construction and maintenance of the protective walls. Later independent sresearch showed that more than 50 levees and food walls failed during the passage of the hurricane. This failure caused the flooding of most of New Orleans and all of ST. Bernard Parish. The Unites States Corps of Engineers had been in charge of the of the levee system and flood walls construction since the 1936 flood act. According to the law, the Louisiana Department of Transportation is in charge to inspect the overall design and engineering practices implemented in the construction of the system. Once the levee systems were finished, they were handed over to the New Orleans Levee District for regular maintenance and periodically inspections. The uncoordinated actions of these three agencies resulted in the complete failure of a system that was supposed to protect the people of New Orleans. The evidence is clear that this catastrophic event did not happened by chance. The uncoordinated response of these...
The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was one of the most destructive in the history of the United States, proving that the levee only policy was a failure and the limits of human control over the river. The beginning of the flood, from the initial crevasse, poured out “468,000 second-feet onto the Delta that triple the volume of a flooding Colorado, more than double a flooding Niagara Falls and the entire upper Mississippi ever carried” (pg 203). The flood of 1927 “shifted perceptions of the role and responsibility of the federal government… shattered the myth of a quasi-feudal bond between Delta blacks and the southern aristocracy...accelerated the great migration of blacks north. And it altered both southern and national politics....” (pg 422). America is a product of the flood of 1927 in shaping the political, social, and economic structure. With each reoccurring disaster, America, in that region, continues to face the same issues regarding social conditions and poor working conditions that failed to be addressed.
By August 28, evacuations were underway across the region. That day, the National Weather Service predicted that after the storm hit, “most of the [Gulf Coast] area will be uninhabitable for weeks…perhaps longer.” New Orleans was at particular risk. Though about half the city actually lies above sea level, its average elevation is about six feet below sea level–and it is completely surrounded by water. Over the course of the 20th century, the Army Corps of Engineers had built a system of levees and seawalls to keep the city from flooding. The levees along the Mississippi River were strong and sturdy, but the ones built to hold back Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Borgne and the waterlogged swamps and marshes to the city’s east and west were much less reliable. Even before the storm, officials worried that those levees, jerry-built atop sandy, porous, erodible soil, might not withstand a massive storm surge. Neighborhoods that sat below sea level, many of which housed the city’s poorest and most vulnerable people, were at great risk of
The Civil Rights Movement is usually seen as a social movement primarily throughout the Southern states during the 1950’s and throughout the 1960’s. However, the movement is taught by giving specific points, events, places, and people. The Civil Rights Movement in some regions such as the Mississippi Delta is not credited enough in history. The movement found crucial support inside of the Mississippi Delta due to its population being predominately African American. The Mississippi Delta played a key role not only in the movement, but in its development from encompassing Civil Rights activist, movements, tragic events, and more.
Many African Americans were afraid and frightened in staying in the Mississippi Delta, so many began to relocate and the population continued to decrease dramatically. Not only was the moving due to lack of security, many residents wanted a better job and better living conditions. Poverty was depriving citizens from their basic necessities of life like food, shelter and revenue. On the average, seven African Americans were lynched or beaten each year in the Mississippi Delta since the ending of slavery. Sunflower County illustrated a major decrease in population. In the mid 1970s, the county population consisted of majority African Americans making up roughly 80.9 percent of the county population.
In a passage from his book, Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America, author John M. Barry makes an attempt use different rhetorical techniques to transmit his purpose. While to most, the Mississippi River is only some brown water in the middle of the state of Mississippi, to author John M. Barry, the lower Mississippi is an extremely complex and turbulent river. John M. Barry builds his ethos, uses elevated diction, several forms of figurative language, and different styles of syntax and sentence structure to communicate his fascination with the Mississippi River to a possible audience of students, teachers, and scientists.
Ubilla, Javier, Tarek Abdoun, Inthuorn Sasanakul, Michael Sharp, Scott Steedman, Wipawi Vanadit-Ellis, and Thomas Zimmie. "New Orleans Levee System Performance during Hurricane Katrina: London Avenue and Orleans Canal South." Geotechnical & Geoenvironmental Engineering (2008): n. pag. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Dec. 2013.
The state offered to sell the canal, the railroad company bought it for the right of ways yet had no need to maintain the dam, which due to neglect, broke for the first time in 1862. McCullough stresses that man was responsible for the dam and its weaknesses nearly thirty years before the great flood as he explains how the initial repair work was carried out by unqualified people and how the discharge pipes were blocked up.... ... middle of paper ... ... McCullough makes a firm argument for the responsibility of man, and asserts the blame on the necessary people, therefore I feel he makes a fair and accurate assertion which I would agree with.
Way back in the early 80’s, neighbors surrounded along the river were once lucky enough to benefit from it. The water was crystal clear and through that it creates rapids. Sometimes you could see them catching a lobster, a shrimp and most of all the local fish called Tilapia by using their home-made fishing nets. Some had benefitted the river for their household needs wherein they dig a deep hole at the sand dune that is five meters away from the river and three meters deep to filter a crystal clear, clean drinking water. Since the pipe from the water district at that time is limited only for those residences along the main road. While for those staying in the interior vicinity at the ...