The Old River Control Structure was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the divergence of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers in order to maintain the water distribution between the two at 70% and 30% respectively. This was done in response to the increasing amounts of water from the Mississippi that was flowing into the Atchafalaya due to its steeper course to the Gulf of Mexico. The floodgate system was completed in 1963.

The details of the Old River Control system are explored in the "Atchafalaya" section of the book "The Control of Nature" by John McPhee.

External links

• The Control of Nature reprinted in The New Yorker

References

• . Includes good map and pictures.

Rivers of Louisiana