re: Non-Political Mississippi River Question

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You claim the French settled Natchez, Vicksburg, and Memphis.

You are as wrong as defending child groomers.

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Why so combative?

Natchez was founded by the French in 1716.
Baton Rouge in 1699 by the French.
New Orleans in 1718 by the French.
St. Louis in 1764 by the French.

I specifically said that Memphis was founded by the US.

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Does anyone know why almost all of the Mississippi River port cities are on the Left Bank of the river and not the Right Bank?

New Orleans
Baton Rouge
Natchez
Vicksburg
Memphis
etc.

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Think back to when they were founded - there were no levees and very little knowledge of how seasonal flooding really impacted the surrounding areas.

In the case of Baton Rouge, Natchez, and Memphis - they were small cities with forts built on bluffs with higher sight lines up and down river for defense and flood protection. They were all established before levees were built. And Baton Rouge and Memphis in particular have since expanded well beyond their bluffs and into lowlands that used to be agricultural fields or swamps. All were busy ports for agriculture in their respective areas because there wasn't really a road or rail network yet.

New Orleans was never on a bluff, but it was built on what was the only high ground there. It has since expanded into very low lying areas that are actually below sea level - something enabled by levees and pump stations. The area of the French Quarter was the original settlement and was the highest ground in the area - that also happens to be the least impacted part of New Orleans historically during hurricanes. They desperately needed a port at New Orleans at the time. It's a horrible place for a city, but it's exactly where one had to exist, especially in the late 18th century.

There are other cities on the west side that are ports, but their growth into livable communities didn't really take off until after the levees were built to control seasonal flooding. By then Baton Rouge, Memphis, and New Orleans had already become the economic juggernauts of their regions - attracting the universities, refineries, commercial activity, and investment.

Also keep in mind that Baton Rouge's actual port is on the west bank, but originally it was right at the Istrouma bluff - it then moved to the area near the Water Campus today, then when they needed more space and rail connections, they moved to the west side. That move happened after the levees were built out, which made Port Allen safe from flooding.

Plaquemine, Donaldsonville, New Roads, etc. were west side ports that became more viable as a place to live after the levees were built. But by then the bulk of the port traffic went through Baton Rouge and New Orleans - and as a consequence those towns grew while the smaller west side towns didn't.

Today, nearly all riverfront land in Baton Rouge or south (on both sides of the river) is very valuable to companies that need deep draft water access to move commodities or finished goods into or out of the US via the river. There are even industrial megasites that are being marketed in Louisiana as far north as New Roads because of the easy barge access. The entire lower delta has become extremely busy for ship traffic, and is one of the only pieces of "infrastructure" (albeit naturally occurring) that Louisiana really can offer that other states can't.

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Fraud, if you see some sort of "gotcha," you are imagining it.

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I was giving you the benefit of the doubt, I suppose. I shouldn't have underestimated how obtuse you could truly be.

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Again, I think Tittle provided the answer with the bluffs. It is just a coincidence/accident of geography that the bluffs are mostly on the Right Bank.

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I disagree. They might be on the right bank for you, but if I'm facing you, then they're on the left bank. So which is it?

Do Vicksburg now.

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If I understand the geography and hydrography of New Orleans and points south, historically (before dredging) the Mississippi basically became non-navigable for large vessels downstream of New Orleans as it spread into delta, making it necessary to use the Pontchartrain for ocean access. Is that correct?

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In a nutshell, but the merchant ships at the time were much smaller. Most could go into Lake Ponchatrain or up the river without much problem. New Orleans had access to both, and they even built a link between the two in the form of MRGO, which actually caused massive flooding to New Orleans and Chalmette during Katrina.

Once they put the levees up in the 20th century, the delta was more controlled in the main channel and the sediment was more constantly suspended in faster current (and carried farther out). So it didn't require as much dredging by the early 1900's. They still have to do it, but the river flow doesn't fan out over the marsh like it used to.

There is a plan in place that's actually fully funded to add a new outflow channel to put more sediment rich river water into the marsh south of New Orleans. In past events 20-30 years ago, they noticed flooding from the river on the east side way south of New orleans was actually causing the marsh to silt back up and create new land. So they are doing that again on the west side, only this time on purpose.

Louisiana is actually starting to get pretty innovative with rebuilding their coast line from the impact of erosion. I just wish it was moving much faster. The fishing industry is fighting it hard but they have ultimately lost this one.

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Again Geography Hank, nothing coincidental about the bluffs.

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Rebel, I was not saying that it was coincidental that the cities were built on bluffs. Just that it is a coincidence that the geography put all the bluffs on the same same bank of the river. As I said above, that is not generally how the "high bank" works here in Texas, but our rivers are just creeks compared to the Mississippi.

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Baton Rouge port is on the west side and Natchez port is on the East

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Originally the port of Baton Rouge was very close to the military outpost there, which was in the area around North Street near where the state office buildings are now.

As it expanded, it moved down river south of downtown. Then it had to expand again, and moved to the west side of the river into Port Allen (which was also it's own small port at the time). By that time the levee systems were pretty well developed and that enabled a major piece of infrastructure to be built out in Port Allen instead of the bluff where the downtown area of Baton Rouge sits today.

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goofball

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That is interesting. Thx

All these years when I needed to go to Algiers and I said, “I’m going over to the West Bank” when I should’ve said the “Right Bank”.

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I thought someone would know the answer.

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Multiple people have given you the reasons. Yet here you are, still arguing.