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 4th 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?
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix32QtAeOiI
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
Spillways
Clips
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMaMbajqCa8