Course of Mississippi River in 1806

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Mark Twain wrote "Life on the Mississippi" in 1883 and said the cut-off happened 45-50 years before that.The cut-off saved 28 miles of river travel.
The first two maps are from 1806.The third map is from 1839.
The fourth map is from 1861 and shows the river has cut its new course but that Old River isn't fully cut-off yet.
The fifth map is an 1862 plantaion map and shows better detail than picture four.Also worth noting in the plantation map,is that Raccourci Island had riverfront plantations on it,I guess mother nature gave them the finger changing courses like that.
The sixth map is from 1895 and shows Old River cut-off at the eastern end but still somewhat connected at the western end.
The seventh map is a map of the Flood of 1927,and shows the Old River fully cut-off from the Mississippi.The black line that seems to connect Old River on the western end is the Pointe Coupee,West Feliciana Parish boundary line.
Once the new channel was cut some time before 1861,any period of low water would have cut-off Old River from the main channel even though the maps show it still connected.
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Coordinates:   30°53'7"N   91°36'41"W
This article was last modified 13 years ago