Mississippi River Research Paper

It has taken millions of years to create Louisiana. Many things have contributed to the growth of Louisiana. One of the only things that creates land are rivers. In Louisiana, the river that builds land is the Mississippi river. It has created what we now know as Southern Louisiana. The Mississippi River creates land by depositing sediment into the Gulf of Mexico and whenever it floods, sediment would be left behind which builds up land over time. However, although it takes a very long time to create the land of Louisiana, it can take as little as 45 minutes to lose land. One of the things that destroys land are levees. The levees limit the sediment deposition in the Gulf of Mexico which means not as much land can grow and and land subsidence begins to occur. Land subsidence is when land starts to sink. The Mississippi River was formed over 7,000 years ago. As …show more content…
The Mississippi River is so important in the growth of Louisiana because it is the only thing that helps build land in Louisiana. The Mississippi creates land by dumping the sediment that flows down it into the Gulf of Mexico and as the sediment builds up, land is formed. The river has changed course many times over many thousands of years. If the Mississippi River had never gone towards New Orleans and gone through all the changes it has been through, southern Louisiana wouldn’t have been formed. The Mississippi River is so important in the growth of Louisiana because it is the only thing that helps build land in Louisiana. At this moment in time, we are losing a whole football field every 45 minutes. This is due to things like saltwater intrusion. This is when salt water makes soil to toxic for plants to live in. If nothing is done to stop the loss of our land, Louisiana could disappear completely. If that happens, then New Orleans and all of southern Louisiana will be gone and that affects so many people and their homes and