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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many rivers, but mainly the Mississippi. It has done so by branching out into many channels and expanding in different directions across Louisiana. As the mouth of the Mississippi continues south, the gradient declines and the current slows down. Its sediment is built up so much that the river spills over to one side. The Mississippi River had advanced so far past New Orleans in the 1950’s that it was ready to make a major shift into the Atchafalaya. With this transition though, there would become major problems including the possible collapse of Baton Rouge and destruction of New Orleans. Not only would industries and businesses brought by the river be in danger, but all the people of Louisiana could suffer from the shift. For as early as the 18th century, the Mississippi River has been used in terms for trade. 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 snags. Many projects have been done starting in the 1800’s to try to prevent the Mississippi from being captured by the Atchafalaya. The first attempt was made at the site of the navigation lock. A meander bend was the culprit of the escaping Mississippi water, and was actually the mouth of the Red River before the Atchafalaya took that over. This bend between the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers-called the Old River- was the cause of the businesses in New Orleans and Baton Rouge along the river to be in for a surprise. In 1963, the U.S Army Corps of Engineers damned the Old River, but could not leave the Atchafalaya, which served as water supplies for some towns, in a position to die. The Corps knew it had to feed it water somehow, but they also knew that it was a steeper stream and the more water it was given, the deeper it would make its bed, and therefore the more water it would want to take in. In response, the Corps built a Fort Laramie which prevented the Atchafalaya from capturing all of the Mississippi River, but at the same time gave it a steady water supply. Then construction of a new Old River, located ten miles upriver from Fort Laramie was built by the U.S.
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…
stage. The creation of the Mississippi River Commission, a bill proposed by Congress, came as the result of the growing concern over navigation and flooding. The members of the organization were appointed by the United States President. Many argued that the control of the river was not the responsibility of the federal government, and opposed the bill. The bill finally passed, but did not interfere with the constructions of the US Corps of Engineering. The MRC’s first plan was to advocate a permanent levee system and bank protection. Levees tended to deepen the channel and to enlarge the bed of the river during flooding which would then improve navigation. After the levee system was complete, and the MRC completed its first project, the hydraulic dredge started to make an appearance on the Mississippi. The MRC then proposed a report in 1884 that called for a series of brush and stone and dams to be constructed just below low-water in Atchafalaya. The dams were designed to improve navigation. The organization also discussed the possibility of closing off the Atchafalaya and Red rivers from the Mississippi, but the plan didn’t go through because the MRC indicated that the Atchafalaya was gradually enlarging, and continually getting more water from the Mississippi. The first Flood Control Act was passed by Congress in 1917 which called for the construction of levees to control flooding, and required locals to pay for half of the costs and be in charge of maintaining the levees after they were built. The Great Flood of 1927 greatly changed the way things were done in concern with the Mississippi River, and is often caused one of the worst natural disasters in United States’ history. Many months of heavy rains cause caused the river to grow to its highest levels. The first levee broke on April 16 and the levee at Mounds Landing followed it on April 21. After that, the entire levee system, built by the MRC, collapsed. The flood effected over 27,000 square miles and over 130,000 homes were lost and 700,000 people were without a place to live. The plan for the improvements after the Great Flood of 1927 were laid out in the Jadwin Plan or as Congress called it, “Project Flood”.
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
bind. Even though the capture of the Mississippi by the Atchafalaya had been recognized for many years, by 1950 almost 25% of the flow of the Mississippi was being naturally directed to the Atchafalaya. Researchers had estimated that by 1970, 40% of the Mississippi River would be forced to the Atchafalaya is nothing was done. Even after all the years of construction and money put into the improvement of this problem, it had not been completely fixed. No natural process would even stop the eventual capture, so it was concluded that something must be done once again. The Corps Report was laid out to construct two concrete control structures, a navigation lock, and an earthen dam to close off the Old River structure. Both structures, one of the overbank and the other a low sill, had mechanically operated gates. The low sill had 11 gates which were each 44 feet wide. The overbank structure had 73 gate bays, each with 44 feet clear between piers. Construction of the low still structure began first in September of 1955 so if for any reason Old River had to be closed before the full project was completed, there would be some sort of control. Uncontrolled flow of water from the Mississippi to the Atchafalaya was completely ceased in October of 1963. Another flood struck the Mississippi in 1973, and the previous construction of the Old River system had its greatest test. The strain of the record high volume almost cause the failure of the system, which could have allowed the Mississippi to be taken over by the Atchafalaya. The flood of 1973 caused the Mississippi to reach its peak point during a 77 day flood. Before the large volumes of water reached New Orleans, it was clear that it would have damaging effects, so the water was diverted to Lake Ponchartrain and the Gulf of Mexico. Even though New Orleans was protected, hundreds of farms in the other areas saw the threats of the diverted water. The Auxiliary Control Structure was built in 1981 in response to the damage to the Old River Control. It would restore the capability of the Old River in case of emergency situations. The auxiliary structure is a concrete structure made up of six 62-foor wide gate bays with steel gates. About 15,000 feet of conveyance channel and 22,000 feet of levees would be constructed. It would eventually operate with the low sill of the Old River structure Nutrient concentrations in the Mississippi and Atchafalaya river basins are important to estimate the flux of nutrients to the Gulf of Mexico and to interpret the overall water quality of the basins. The Mississippi River is a huge source of water for public use, being one of the largest fresh-water rivers in the world. If there are too high concentrations of elements such as nitrogen and phosphorus, it can cause eutrophication-excessive richness of nutrients- which can cause major problems in terms of public drinking water. The causes of the excessive nutrients in the water is linked to human activities such as waste disposal and agriculture. Nitrogen in the Mississippi and Atchafalaya River basins are believed to be the most responsible nutrient for the excess amounts of algae in the Gulf of Mexico. It is most abundant in the form of nitrate and organic nitrogen. Large amounts of ammonia are also present in the basins due to the waste of animals and other organisms. This ammonia is usually transformed into nitrogen where concentrations are not high enough to cause a problem. The concentration of nitrate in the river basins usually vary due to climate change. For instance, in the late winter and spring nitrate concentrations are at its highest when the flow of water is the strongest, and concentrations are lowest in the late summer and fall when the streamflow is at its lower rates. The major way nitrogen makes its way into these rivers is through agricultural drainage which is where the top of the soil is drained into streams, ditches, and drains. Some of this drainage can be concentrated up to 20-40 mg/L which is very high and risky for the river basins. The rates of nitrogen and phosphorus in the Mississippi and Atchafalaya River basins can be contributed to agricultural activities such as row crop cultivation and livestock production. New inputs of these elements is primarily due to the application of fertilizer to the crop lands.
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.
Federal Emergency Management Agency’s article, “Benefit of Dams” (2012) analyzes how dams prevent flooding by releasing the excess water in controlled amounts through floodgates (¶ 3).
Hydrosphere of the Mississippi River A Case Study of * River management * People interfering in the hydrosphere * A flood management scheme River Basin / Catchment area The source of the river is the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains to the north. There are many hundreds of tributaries including the Red River, Missouri river and the river Ohio. The mountains form the river's watershed. From Minneapolis the river flows South-East into Iowa where it flows south as far as Davenport. At Davenport it is joined by more small tributaries.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
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.
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 ...