The Atchafalaya River and Morgan City #1
Morgan City, Louisiana.
The Atchafalaya River is a 137-mile-long distributary of the Mississippi River and Red River in south central Louisiana in the United States. It flows south, just west of the Mississippi River, and is the fifth largest river in North America, by discharge.
The river is formed near the small town of Simmesport at the confluence of the Red River with the Mississippi, where the Mississippi connects to the Red River by the 7-mile-long canalized Old River. It receives 30% of the combined flow of the Red and Mississippi Rivers. (The remaining 70% continues down the Mississippi River.). The volume the Atchafalaya receives from the Mississippi is controlled by the Old River Control Structure, a system of a low-sill structure, an auxiliary structure, an overbank structure, a navigation lock, and a power plant near Red River Landing, Louisiana. In times of extreme flooding, the Morganza Spillway further downstream is also used to regulate volume
If the Mississippi were allowed to flow freely, the shorter and steeper Atchafalaya would capture the main flow of the Mississippi, permitting the river to bypass its current path through the important ports of Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Despite control efforts, some researchers believe the likelihood of this event increases each year due to natural forces inherent to river deltas.
The Atchafalaya River and Morgan City #1
Morgan City, Louisiana.
The Atchafalaya River is a 137-mile-long distributary of the Mississippi River and Red River in south central Louisiana in the United States. It flows south, just west of the Mississippi River, and is the fifth largest river in North America, by discharge.
The river is formed near the small town of Simmesport at the confluence of the Red River with the Mississippi, where the Mississippi connects to the Red River by the 7-mile-long canalized Old River. It receives 30% of the combined flow of the Red and Mississippi Rivers. (The remaining 70% continues down the Mississippi River.). The volume the Atchafalaya receives from the Mississippi is controlled by the Old River Control Structure, a system of a low-sill structure, an auxiliary structure, an overbank structure, a navigation lock, and a power plant near Red River Landing, Louisiana. In times of extreme flooding, the Morganza Spillway further downstream is also used to regulate volume
If the Mississippi were allowed to flow freely, the shorter and steeper Atchafalaya would capture the main flow of the Mississippi, permitting the river to bypass its current path through the important ports of Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Despite control efforts, some researchers believe the likelihood of this event increases each year due to natural forces inherent to river deltas.