New Orleans

Environment

New Orleans may be a thriving metropolis, but it was once written off as nothing more than an alligator and mosquito-infested swamp. The maze of river, bayous, lakes, and swamps made land access and travel difficult. The semitropical climate provided the perfect breeding conditions for mosquitoes, and diseases, such as yellow fever and malaria, ran rampant. In its earliest days the area was actually referred to as the Isle of Orleans.

Today, New Orleans is defined by the very bodies of water that once made habitation so unlikely. Its nickname—the Crescent City—actually refers to the shape of the land that has been molded by the Mississippi River. The river winds through the city and rushes out into the Gulf of Mexico, which lies 177 kilometers (110 miles) to the south. To the north of the city lies Lake Pontchartrain, actually a coastal lagoon, 40 kilometers (25 miles) wide and 64 kilometers (40 miles) long with a total area of more than 1,606 square kilometers (620 square miles).

The Greater New Orleans area covers about 941 square kilometers (363.5 square miles), but only 514 (198.4) are somewhat dry land. This is because, at five feet below sea level, New Orleans is the lowest point in the state of Louisiana.