[Phys-L] Re: New Orleans

[John Denker <jsd@AV8N.COM>]

Anthony Lapinski wrote:
> Do any of you know about how this place was settled?
> Specifically, when the city was founded, was it a "swampy" area? What made
> people settle there?

Yes, the general _area_ has always been swampy.

But people settled there for just the opposite reason:  the site
of New Orleans is the highest point for miles around.

It was the ideal site for a port;  all sites farther downriver
were too swampy, and sites slightly farther upriver were no better,
and therefore the site closest to the mouth was the winner.  In
the days before railroads and highways, water transportation was
predominant, and New Orleans was the gateway to most of an entire
continent.

It was only in the early 20th century that below-sea-level areas were
diked and then pumped dry, more than doubling the habitable area
of the city.  This made sense at the time, because the city had a
thriving economy, and real estate there was quite valuable.

Since then, some of the below-sea-level areas have become more so,
due to subsidence.

The lower areas have always been less desirable, with the result
that rich people tend to live on high ground, while poor people tend
to live on the low-lying ground.  When a storm threatens, this is a
double-or-nothing proposition, because the people who most need to
evacuate have the least means to do so.

=========

It is worthwhile reading accounts of the non-hurricane-related flood
of 1927 and its aftermath.  See if you can find any parallels with
recent events.
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Mississippi_Flood_of_1927
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