Phoenix to New Orleans (Friday)

The mighty Mississippi River.

I had planned to go from Phoenix to New York but have changed my plans to cut costs. Instead I fly directly to New Orleans, well, via Dallas.

Both American Airline’s flights go as planned and I arrive in New Orleans just after 5 pm. The hotel I booked on the Internet is in a great location, just outside the popular French Quarter. The first thing I do is head down town to say g’day to the great Mississippi River.

A great river for me can be just as emotive as a huge mountain or a grove of giant trees. And the Mississippi River is easily one of the great rivers of the world. It’s not just it’s sheer size but it’s influence on humanity in this country. I’m not the only one taken by this great river. It is the heart of half of this nation and so many times imortalised in songs, stories, poems, paintings, photographs and the psyche of anyone who comes in contact with it. If you were to take a drink from the river here you would be tasting about 30 US states and two Canadian Provinces, such is the enormity of it’s catchment area. But it is the enormous area of wetland and boyous that the river supports that is so important to the sustainability of the region. Building levees along the river prevented precious fertile soils brought down by the river from feeding the wetlands and channels dug to increase boat accessibility to the wetlands let saltwater in. Consequently huge areas of stabilising vegetation died off leading to erosion. Precious land gas been lost and the natural protection from storm surge has been reduced.

From where I stand, close to the mouth, it is about 700 meters wide and about 70 meters deep. Ports well inland are accessible directly by boat. This river now is busy with great container ships, barges and large tourist ships. I can imagine it alive with paddle steamers in years past transporting human and agricultural cargo up and down the river.