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Building in a Flood Plain, and a Map of the Flood of 1927

In response to Map of the Ancient Mississippi a few of you left comments to the effect of “no one should live in floodplains.” It’s an appealing notion, but I think it’s unrealistic. Anne Jefferson of Highly Allochthonous published an epic post yesterday outlining the benefits and risks of building in a flood plain, and the need to balance them: Levees and the illusion of flood control. It’s well worth a read. Plus, she dug up some great archival imagery, like this map of the 1927 flood:

Mississippi River Flood of 1927 Showing Flooded Areas and Field of Operations.

Mississippi River Flood of 1927 Showing Flooded Areas and Field of Operations. Compiled and printed by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey.

Some additional details on the map are in this article from the National Archives: The 200th Anniversary of the Survey of the Coast.