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Why did the Mississippi River get it's original route through BR and Nola?

Posted on 3/25/24 at 4:22 pm
Posted by Saunson69
Member since May 2023
1930 posts
Posted on 3/25/24 at 4:22 pm
I know water will always take the path of highest negative gradient and from where the 3 rivers (Red, Atchafalya, MS) meet, it's 100 straight miles through Morgan City to gulf and 200 straight miles through Venice. There is going to be a larger negative slope through Morgan City with a shorter travel distance. So why did it take the route through BR and Nola?
Posted by poochie
Houma, la
Member since Apr 2007
6392 posts
Posted on 3/25/24 at 4:25 pm to


This post was edited on 3/25/24 at 4:28 pm
Posted by Oilfieldbiology
Member since Nov 2016
37606 posts
Posted on 3/25/24 at 4:25 pm to
Rock and land formations, elevation relative to each other, because God said “frick Morgan City”

Take your pick
Posted by tketaco
Sunnyside, Houston
Member since Jan 2010
19669 posts
Posted on 3/25/24 at 4:25 pm to
Because it was just a land mass prior to becoming 2 cities.
Posted by DoctorTechnical
Baton Rouge
Member since Jul 2009
2801 posts
Posted on 3/25/24 at 4:25 pm to
The explanation you want is found in the word "meander".
Posted by geauxjuice
t(-.-t)
Member since Jan 2007
4131 posts
Posted on 3/25/24 at 4:26 pm to
it was swishing all back and forth throughout history. we locked it in with levees/ control structures.
This post was edited on 3/25/24 at 4:27 pm
Posted by 0x15E
Outer Space
Member since Sep 2020
12829 posts
Posted on 3/25/24 at 4:26 pm to
Cause Shreve fricked up.
Posted by auggie
Opelika, Alabama
Member since Aug 2013
28293 posts
Posted on 3/25/24 at 4:26 pm to
Why do people drive on parkways but park on driveways?
It's a communist plot.
Posted by White Bear
Yonnygo
Member since Jul 2014
14077 posts
Posted on 3/25/24 at 4:26 pm to
She ain’t done yet, baw.
Posted by Jim Rockford
Member since May 2011
98403 posts
Posted on 3/25/24 at 4:27 pm to
Fun fact: The mouth of the Mississippi has ranged from Galveston to BIloxi.
Posted by geauxjuice
t(-.-t)
Member since Jan 2007
4131 posts
Posted on 3/25/24 at 4:33 pm to
also the driving force behind coastal land loss. not erosion, necessarily, but rather subsidence. south louisiana would not exist without regular sediment-heavy flooding following the glaciers retreating.
This post was edited on 3/25/24 at 4:34 pm
Posted by Auburn80
Backwater, TN
Member since Nov 2017
7613 posts
Posted on 3/25/24 at 4:45 pm to
Even the Mississippi likes to have a good time in the French Quarter.
Posted by SidetrackSilvera
Member since Nov 2012
1966 posts
Posted on 3/25/24 at 4:48 pm to
Path of least resistance has always been between BR and NOLA.


Posted by armytiger96
Member since Sep 2007
1229 posts
Posted on 3/25/24 at 4:50 pm to
The MS River has been trying reroute it's path to the Gulf of Mexico ever since Capt Shreve connected the three rivers. Man built a water control structure that diverts 1/3 of the flow down the Atchafalaya and 2/3s of flow stays on its current course.

Posted by Bjorn Cyborg
Member since Sep 2016
26998 posts
Posted on 3/25/24 at 5:01 pm to
Soil density and composition. Some soft, some rocky, some dense, some loose. It's not just elevations.
Posted by MemphisGuy
Member since Nov 2023
3612 posts
Posted on 3/25/24 at 5:03 pm to
quote:

The MS River has been trying reroute it's path to the Gulf of Mexico


It will eventually succeed.
Posted by NewIberiaHaircut
Lafayette
Member since May 2013
11587 posts
Posted on 3/25/24 at 5:04 pm to
Go check out the Harold Fisk maps baw. There are 22 of them that show the historical path of the river from Southern Illinois to the gulf.

Posted by Kafka
I am the moral conscience of TD
Member since Jul 2007
142632 posts
Posted on 3/25/24 at 5:10 pm to
quote:

it was swishing all back and forth throughout history
it was always a pretty ghey river
Posted by Landmass
Member since Jun 2013
18195 posts
Posted on 3/25/24 at 5:14 pm to
The mouth of the Mississippi originally was closer to Baton Rouge than NOLA but the river itself deposited all of the land that is between Baton Rouge, NOLA and the current mouth.
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