visitors and locals alike are flocking down to the old quarter to view the gorgeous array of #TallShips here as part of the US’s celebration of the US’s 250th year.

info to know about water and New Orleans:

The Port of South Louisiana handles the largest amount of shipping, in tonnage, of all U.S. ports and exports most of the grain from the US.

from The Planets World site:

“The Mississippi River is exceptionally deep at Algiers Point, at approximately 200 feet, and wide, measuring one mile across. Recent barriers are being constructed to protect the river’s navigation against rising waters. The Port of New Orleans has seen an increase in cruise traffic, with major cruise lines like Norwegian and Royal Caribbean operating from the port, which also serves as Louisiana’s only deep-water container port.”

of course the state is criss-crossed with waterways and has the 3rd longest coastline in the US.

for the most part, Louisianans view water as a work place: crabbing, commercial fishing, oil and gas jobs, trawling, piloting, tourism, and all of the efforts that sustain the combined port. however it is also “fisherman’s paradise”ranking in the top 10 for coastal marshes and redfish fishing with one of the most productive inland waterway systems…

The Mississippi River drains 2/3 of the continental US and New Orleans has much of its flood controls, reducing harm to the rest of the basin, Deliberate water diversion at the Old River Control Structure in Louisiana allows the Atchafalaya River in Louisiana to be a major distributary of the Mississippi River, with 30% of the combined flow of the Mississippi and Red Rivers flowing to the Gulf of Mexico by this route.