For the Instructor

These student materials complement the Coastal Processes, Hazards and Society Instructor Materials. If you would like your students to have access to the student materials, we suggest you either point them at the Student Version which omits the framing pages with information designed for faculty (and this box). Or you can download these pages in several formats that you can include in your course website or local Learning Managment System. Learn more about using, modifying, and sharing InTeGrate teaching materials.

Initial Publication Date: December 7, 2016

Additional Exploration

Additional exploration of New Orleans elevation:

In addition to exploring New Orleans more randomly, follow a profile from Lake Pontchartrain to the Mississippi River following Elysian Fields Avenue. To do this, first go to a photograph of the Port Pontchartrain (Milneburg) Lighthouse at coordinates 30 °01'55.60 N; 90 °03'42.84 W. travel a short distance north and find Pontchartrain Beach. At an eye altitude of approximately 350 meters, explore the elevation profile between the lakeshore and the lighthouse. Find the highest elevation (not the roof of a building). Note the pale colored linear feature that links in with a linear earthen feature. These are the flood defenses that surround the city of New Orleans. Note the elevation of the top of this levee and floodwall. Trace the levee to the east along the lakeshore until you reach a waterway. This is the Industrial Canal. You will see a complex flood gate in the mouth of the canal inside the road and railroad bridges. This is an example of a newly constructed flood control feature that is part of the improvements that have been made since Hurricane Katrina. More on this in Module 6.

Now return to the area near the lighthouse where you began. At an eye altitude of approximately 1 km, trace the course of Elysian Fields avenue south towards the Mississippi River (there is a traffic circle at the northern end of the avenue). Note the changes in elevation. You will make this profile in GeoMappApp next.

Before leaving an exploration of New Orleans, find the following location: 29 °58'57.33; 90 °02'36.64. This is the Lower Ninth Ward, near where the Industrial Canal flood wall broke in Hurricane Katrina. The photos titled "9th Ward" give a graphic illustration of how this neighborhood looked shortly after the storm.

Similar scenes could be found near all of the levee floodwall breaks. In Module 6, we will look at more examples and also consider the recovery process since Hurricane Katrina as well as the future of the city of New Orleans in light of sea level rise projections.