Bonnet Carre Spillway

USA / Louisiana / Norco /
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Here the Mississippi River is allowed to overflow into Lake Pontchartrain (to the northeast) when it is at flood stage. A series of gates located near the river are raised to control the flow of water. This process mimics what the river used to do all along its length before it was leveed.
"Bonnet Carre" is roughly French for "Square Hat".
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonnet_Carré_Spillway
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   30°2'20"N   90°24'41"W

Comments

  • it was justed opened ounce and that was in 1997 to rleiove pressure off the mississippi it was only open for a week i just learned that today in louisiana history
  • Bonnet Carre is a sportsman paradise. Everything to do from mud riding to flying model airplanes. It's almost like desert country out there.
  • With all the rain from up north this year as it is flowing down it is rasing the rivers hight which means they might open the spillway if the Atchafaliya river goes higher then seven feet in Morgan City.
  • Pay attention to forrestgumprock. He knows what he's talking about.They opened it today.
  • It gonna stay open for another 25 dyas according to the Times-Picyune.
  • It closed last week.
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This article was last modified 17 years ago