The Atchafalaya River

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“This nation has a large and powerful adversary. Our opponent could cause the United States to lose nearly all her seaborne commerce, to lose her standing as first among trading nations… We are fighting Mother Nature…It’s a battle we have to fight day by day, year by year, the health of our economy depends on victory (Mcphee, 1987).”The narrator of the film said this about the Atchafalaya navigational lock and the complex of associated structures built in an effort to stop the capture of the Mississippi river. The Atchafalaya is the largest wetland and swamp in the United States and contains about one acres of the United States lakes, swamps, etc. The name Atchafalaya comes from Choctaw for long river, from hachcha, river, and falaya, long. …show more content…
The discharge of water into the current Mississippi channel would decrease until it resembled a bayou. All the levees along the previous Mississippi channel would no longer be needed to prevent flooding. In addition, towns such as Morgan City, located within the current Atchafalaya flood plain would be swept away by the newly expanded river. An expensive levee system would have to be built along the Atchafalaya in order to preserve current standards of flood control. The old Mississippi channel would no longer be able to be used for navigation by industry without expensive and extensive dredging. Industry would lack the water it needed to perform many of its processes such as cooling and the dumping of wastes. Agriculture would suffer from the lack irrigation water, and cities such as New Orleans would suffer economically from the lack of trade and drinking water. The only thing the diversion of the Atchafalaya promised to bring to society was disaster, and legislators decided to prevent this disaster at all costs (Kemp, 2000). They use to use the Atchafalaya for stuffing furniture, because they would collect the moss and use that for it. From the beginning of the nineteenth century, Cajuns made their lives and livings in the swamp. Their grocery stores were afloat in the water, and they were moved among camp to camp. All the stuff vanished and the Cajuns would …show more content…
Because of changing water levels, floating logs, and aquatic plants, the smaller waterways of the Basin can change dramatically over short periods of time. Wind can blow large rafts of water hyacinths into an area and block easy movement (Fryling, n.d.). During spring when there are high waters the Basin is a waterway with few campsites and near-infinite possibilities for getting lost. It is said that getting is the excitement of exploring the Basin. You should never be scared of being lost because all you really have to do is go east or west and you will soon find a levee system that is put up. Also during high water you can the excitement of dodging trees and branches too. Many of the waterways within the Basin are true bayous in that they can change direction of flow depending on river height and local rainfall. During low water times in late fall you are confined to the largest watercourses, or you find yourself changing from a canoeist to a muddy hiker-wader. Regardless of the season, the Basin is not the place for someone who is unwilling to appreciate mud. (Fryling, n.d.). Late winter and early spring are the best times to plan your canoe trips in the basin. The water is usually high and this is allowing you to get to the back areas. If you are crossing the center channel give it respect because during high water and the wind is blowing there’s a big chance of you getting
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