atchafalaya basin map

Natural filling of the basin with sediment was accentuated with the building of the flood control levees that were completed in the 1940s. Get information and guides to help you find and use NASA Earth science data, services, and tools. border-color: #000000; The largest swamp in the United States, the Atchafalaya flood basin combines wetlands and river deltas that buffer against major catastrophes. Stretching across more than 1.245-million square miles, 31 states, and two Canadian provinces, The Mississippi is the fourth largest river in the world. Official websites use .gov As a result of the Atchafalaya River channel bed incision, in the early 21st century the flow distribution is 13 percent of the total flow, with a flow distribution of 7 percent to the east side and 6 percent to the west side as reported by the USGS. Geology of the Mississippi River deltaic plain, southeastern Louisiana. Easier said than done. border-color: #000000; It contains the largest contiguous block of forested wetlands remaining (about 35%) in the lower Mississippi River valley and the largest block of floodplain forest in the United States. width: 100%; The only other time this spillway opened was in May 2011. A full-color satellite Atchafalaya Basin map can be purchased from the Louisiana Geological Survey located on the LSU campus. The cryosphere encompasses the frozen parts of Earth, including glaciers and ice sheets, sea ice, and any other frozen body of water. A shift may take hundreds, even thousands, of years, during which water patiently cuts the earth, scissoring a riverbed deep enough to eventually lure more water, more rivers until a giant boa constrictor surges. It receives periodic backwater flooding from the Atchafalaya River and excess rainwater through the Courtableau water-control structure north of Indian Bayou. border-color: #000000; 1987. Still, said Hahn Jung, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, it is not well known how flooding water moves up and down this area scientifically. Without accurate data, the potential for a miscalculation increasesan impending danger for an unruly floodway so eager to tip its scales. Farmers ask to keep their soils saturated, not drenched. Connecting the two rivers, in the form of an H, is the Old River, the site where the Atchafalaya could capture the Mississippi. In the spring of 1973, the Old River Control Structure (ORCS) nearly failed when the Mississippi swelled with unusually high snowfalls thawing in the north and persistent rains sluicing the south. .table_d2e8 { Geologically, the Atchafalaya River has been a backswamp, low area between the paths of the Mississippi River through the process of delta switching, which has built the extensive delta plain of Louisiana. This got us 26th place out of 67 boats which I guess is pretty good. Whether youre parking an RV or pitching a tent, stay in the Atchafalaya NHA! border-color: #000000; } The river stretches from near Simmesport in the north through parts of eight parishes to the Morgan City southern area. By the early twentieth century, Bayou Chene was the center of the Atchafalya Basin's cypress and fur industry and housed many of the 1,000 full-time fisherman who fished the swamp's shallow bottoms. The key to planning is knowing how much freshwater water will go where. The border: 0px none; So to improve this science, Jung calibrated a hydrodynamic model using satellite data. The biosphere encompasses all life on Earth and extends from root systems to mountaintops and all depths of the ocean. Who ever thought you could measure discharge from space? Jasinski said. [1] The basin contains about 70% forest habitat and about 30% marsh and open water. No Entrance Fees border-color: #000000; Site GPS Coordinates: 30.407005 , -91.709469 Closest Address: None. border: 0px none; .table_d2e260 td { Driving Directions: From Hwy. United States Louisiana . The Atchafalaya flows west of the Mississippi. As a result of the Flood Control Act of 1928, the Basin became a distributary floodway system of the lower Mississippi River. The Atchafalaya Basin, LA, Landmark - MapQuest. Popping the bait across top of water and the smallest bass went for biggest bait! [2], The Atchafalaya Basin contains lacustrine and coastal delta landscapes. [3] The Basin is the largest existing wetland in the United States with an area of 1,400,000 acres (5,700km2), including the surrounding swamps outside of the levees that historically were connected to the Basin. NASA data provide key information on land surface parameters and the ecological state of our planet. Letting the River Run The control of the river's floods, along with those of the Mississippi River, has become a controversial issue in recent decades. Now buried underneath at least twelve feet of silt, Bayou Chene is one of several abandoned communities in the midst of the basin. [16], The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 nearly demolished the community. Zydeco, swamp pop, blues and more find their roots in the Atchafalaya NHA. The earliest settlers of the Bayou Chene region were the native Chitimacha tribe. located in the central part of the coastal zone, west of the Terrebonne Basin (Figure AT-1). Atchafalaya Basin Map Index. But like all models, the LISFLOOD-ACC, reflects the complex reality of an immeasurable scenario, meaning models are not sophisticated enough to account for every nuance and trait within a river. In the largest and most intensively managed floodway in the United States, the Mississippi meanders through an intricate lacework system of concrete dams and spillways, and earthen and rock levees that assist in navigating water. -->, ,