The Mississippi River Flood

Would you believe me if I told you that it was just as effortless to swim in syrup as swimming in water? Well, it’s true! I realize it seems insane, doesn’t it? Throughout this essay, I am going to talk about the history of molasses (syrup), The Great Molasses Flood of 1919, and how we know swimming in syrup is much like swimming in a pool of water.

The Broken Spears is a book written by Miguel Leon-Portilla that gives accounts of the fall of the Aztec Empire to the Spanish in the early 16th century. The book is much different from others written about the defeat of the empire because it was written from the vantage point of the Aztecs rather then the Spanish. Portilla describes in-depth many different reasons why the Spanish were successful in the defeat of such a strong Empire.

The Ellicott City flood was destructive because it was on a high gradient stream. The high gradient stream made it flood faster, and had low stream discharge. Discharge is cross section of stream channel. It was also capable of moving large particles, which is an example of deposition and erosion. In the experiment, the ‘Main Street Ellicott City’ stream was more affected than the Meandering Stream. The Main Street Ellicott City stream was flooded faster, and more houses and cars were destroyed compared to the Meandering

The characteristic warming climate of the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene resulted in rising sea levels which contributed to the formation of the various deltas in the New Orleans area (Dunbar, Britsch, 2008). The natural formation of these deltas produced coastal wetlands that represent 30% of coastal wetlands currently in the United States (Cigler, 2007). In addition to these wetlands, the Mississippi River was surrounded by substantial forest growth (Pabis, 1998).

Flooding of the settlement was problematic. By 1812, the settlers had built miles of levees on the banks of the river. For the next two hundred years, the surrounding wetlands were drained to eliminate swamps filled with yellow fever carrying mosquitoes and to encourage economic development. Draining water from peaty soils encouraged subsidence. The land which was just inches above sea level to begin with steadily sank. In combat of this, higher and stronger levees were built, tightening the straight jacket already placed upon the Mississippi River. The massive flooding of 1928 brought further flood control systems implemented by the Army Corps of Engineers with Congressional blessing. By the 1950’s, dramatic rates of land loss in Louisiana’s coastal zone stretched across 300 miles from Texas to Mississippi and inland 50 miles. (Tibbetts)

The Mississippi River is highly regarded as the most important river in Louisiana. One of the lesser known rivers is just as phenomenal, however. The Atchafalaya River (pronounced At-cha-fa-lie-uh), which is adjacent to the Louisianan southern half of the Mississippi River, is so much of a phenomena that the United States Army Corps has been put in charge of controlling the river!

The Johnstown flood, of May 31st 1889, is a devastating part of American history that forever changed the lives of thousands of people. Before the destructive flood more than 30,000 people lived in Johnstown and surrounding towns. The main industries of the time were the Pennsylvania Railroad and Cambria Iron Works, who also supplied houses that were often times built just at the edge of the Conemaugh River, which ran through Johnstown.

During the Civil War the Mississippi River was not only vital for military purposes, but also civilian life. The Mississippi River was an easy way to move troops, supplies, and equipment. In the civilian world it allowed farmers to trade crops and was vital to the economy in both the north and south. In fact President Lincoln feared that northern farmers would side with the south in order ensure movement of crops and resources to sustain life for their families (Gabel, 2013). However, Midwestern states understood the critical important to winning Vicksburg and Midwestern states like Illinois provides 36,000 troops in support of the campaign for the Mississippi River (Gabel, 2013). Access to the Mississippi was not always easy due to the surrounding

Everything in its path is a book that describes the wreckage and aftermath of one of the most server floods to strike West Virginia. The flood struck Buffalo creek a small narrow town in the hollow of the Appalachians Mountains in the winter of 1972. Debris from hundreds of mine operations spills down the slope like ashes. Buffalo creek is one of those mountains hollow that some seventeen miles in length. Around five thousands residents lived along this hollow this small strip of land in 1972 all of whom had houses and lives were washed away by the horrific flood that stuck Buffalo creek. The town of Buffalo creek depends on the mines for their source of income and lively hood. When the flood struck all of the

“Johnstown flood” is a short story written by David McCullough. This story talks about the miraculous survival of a little girl named Gertrude. Gertrude’s sheer luck got her up the hill safely. Of course, with the help of several people she met along the way. I think that this is an extraordinary act of how worked together and some people put his/her life at risk to save a small child that they didn’t even knew. I fell that this is a great example of how human beings come together in times of need and extreme danger and in the way that we try to protect ourselves from disaster.

Information that was used to develop my conclusions were relative to the history of Clearwater River such as the average normal discharge of 40,000cfs, the fact that the river can accommodate 55,000cfs before flooding will occur, and that with every increase of 2600cfs the river rises one foot. For example, this information helped to determine that four of the thirteen noted Peak Flood Discharges listed on the worksheet were not at flood stage as the river is able to accommodate discharges less than 55,000cfs. However, nine of the thirteen Peak Flood Discharges listed on the worksheet were at flood stage or drastically above; with the maximum rise of 17.77 feet above and a discharge rate of 101,200cfs. The average discharge rate of the top three noted floods per information on the Stream Gauge Data of Peak Flow Discharges is 93,613cfs, which is resourceful later in determining the extrapolated 75-year flood.

On August 29th, 2005 Hurricane Katrina caused catastrophic damage and flooding in Mississippi, Louisiana, New Orleans and areas in between. It destructed the lives and homes of thousands of people, with a total of 1,883 fatalities (Hurricane Katrina Statistics Fast Facts, 2015). Hurricane Katrina left many homeless and hospitals unprepared for the challenges posed to the healthcare system as a whole. Some of these challenges included gaining access to healthcare facilities, providing expedited care to those most in need, and preventing spread of disease that commonly occurs during natural disasters. Many facilities did not evacuate in time and many were left stranded in flooded waters as patients conditions worsened and access to essential medications and treatments became limited.

This spring, record breaking floodwaters along the Mississippi River caused massive damage in nine states, totaling over $25 billion dollars in damage (Watts, 2011). In most areas the floodwaters have receded, however there is concern that even a little rain could cause more flooding due to the already saturated land. As cities and towns are beginning the restoration process, one thing caused by the flooding waters cannot be restored. Pollutants’ such as nitrogen from fertilizer, due to this area being primarily composed of farming land, is making its way toward the Gulf of Mexico. Every year pollutants traveling in the Mississippi River enter the Gulf and contribute to the Coastal Dead Zone; however, this year the Dead Zone in the Gulf

The genres are different because gothic literature has strange and violent plot lines whereas magical realism contrasts reality and fantasy with supernatural and unreal elements. For instance in Edgar Allan Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher”, “... and in her violent and now final death agonies, bore him to floor a corpse, and a victim to terrors he had anticipated.”(line 45-47).

This wasn't the first time Flame had sent himself to the asylum, it would be the third time. He wasn’t actually sick, he was just pretending, so he could get away from it for a little bit. Away from what? You may be asking. Well, you see… Flame was the most popular kid at school along with getting ace grades, even though his “brother” didn't really care. On the outside it looked as if Flame had the perfect life, although he knew something was off. Now as for the asylum thing; there was this one kid at school who wasn't always there, but when he was, Flame wanted no part in his shenanigans. He came up with the brilliant idea to appear wrong in the head. He would be sent away for three months and then come back, good as new. Though this time