The Mississippi is a huge river (3d largest in the world, I think) and empties water from three provinces and fifteen states into the Gulf of Mexico. It is the colour of café au lait, filled with the silt from thousands of miles. Every year, with the spring floods, these nutrient rich waters would add a layer of rich soil to the floodplain at the bottom of the river. In the 1930’s and 40’s they started “managing” the river – putting in canals and levees to contain the river, keeping cities from flooding, and using the water for agriculture. These things were important, but at the time they had no way of foreseeing the problems that these man- made changes would bring.
Over time, this has actually caused a huge loss of natural wetlands along the Gulf Coast. This area was full of cypress trees, and they acted as a buffer zone, holding the land in place, and slowing down the winds from hurricanes. In many ways, the devastation of Hurricane Katrina was made worse by mankind messing with nature.
We watched a movie about this, at the Imax theatre, which was very educational – hopefully everyone who lives down in this area will learn these lessons about what needs to be done to reset the natural balance of water and land. The bayou is a beautiful
place, hopefully one that will be protected, and in turn will protect others.
Very interesting.. You are such a great teacher!!
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