Louisiana Waterways and Cities

Today we will discuss Physical vs. cultural geography Important Cities Important waterways Flood Control

Physical vs. Cultural Geography  Physical -Study of landforms, oceans, weather and climate. Cultural – Study of how people have interacted with, changed and adapted to different places on earth.

Cities Most Populated – New Orleans Built in 1718 by Bienville, under French Rule Oldest – Natchitoches Build by St. Denis under French Rule in 1714 Capitol – Baton Rouge Meaning “Red Stick.” Named by Iberville.

New Orleans

Natchitoches

Baton Rouge

Other Important Cities Northern area Shreveport & Monroe Southwest Lafayette and Lake Charles Central Alexandria

Mississippi River Largest river in the U.S. and 4 th largest in the world. Starts in Minnesota and empties into the Gulf of Mexico. 375 billion gallons flow through LA each day.

Start of the Mississippi River

Mississippi River in Baton Rouge

Rivers Flowing into the Mississippi River

Atchafalaya River The longest distributary of the Mississippi River. – Flows into the Gulf of Mexico at Morgan City. Atchafalaya Basin is the largest swamp in the US – 23 million pounds of crawfish per year – Habitat of the Louisiana Black Bear

Gulf of Mexico Our southern border Greatly affects our climate. Ex. Hurricanes. Resources – Food – Oil – Natural gas

Controlling the Water Flooding and levees are always a concern for the people of Louisiana. Levees are to protect us from flooding. – They also create problems. By controlling water with levees, we create high levels of water inside levees. – LEVEES CAN BREAK. Ex. Hurricane Katrina. – Does not allow sediment deposit and increases erosion

Levees

What is a levee? OiI OiI

Spillways Manmade and created to divert water to prevent flooding. – 2 in Louisiana Bonnet Carre – Takes water from the Mississippi and deposits it in Lake Pontchartrain Morganza – Diverts water to the Atchafalaya Basin – Not opened very often

Spillways

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