6th grade science
Ohio River
Every couple of years the Ohio river abandons its delta and forms a new one?
- The channel in the Delta; a course change would prove disastrous to seaports such as New Orleans
- A system of dikes and gates has, so far, held the Mississippi at bay but, due to fluvial processes, the shift becomes more likely each year.
Research how some cities might be affected if the Ohio river changes courses?
- The 2011 Mississippi River floods in April and May 2011 were among the largest and most damaging recorded along the U.S. waterway in the past century, comparable in extent to the major floods of 1927 and 1993.
- In April 2011, two major storm systems deposited record levels of rainfall on the Mississippi River watershed.
Find out when the river last changed its course?
- The Ohio river last changed its course last year and the river almost flooded the delta of the Ohio river
When can the Ohio river change its course again?
- It is expected to change courses each year
For more information go to this website:
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=jrdC6xZnIqI
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_River
For even more info read this:
The Ohio River begins at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers at the Point in Pittsburgh, PA, and flows 981 miles to join the Mississippi at Cairo, Ill.
The importance of this great river for navigation and trade was recognized first by the 17th century European imperial powers in North America. France claimed the territory drained by La Belle Riviere on the basis of explorations made by La Salle in 1669. England later claimed the same land by a purchase from Native Americans in 1744. Conflict over their colonial possessions drew the two countries into the French and Indian War, which lasted from 1756 to 1763.
The English victory in the war cleared the way for westward expansion from the English colonies of the eastern seaboard, and thousands of settlers began moving into the Ohio country. This immigration was slowed by the American Revolution, but after the war, the great migration into the western lands continued.In that era of primitive transportation, the Allegheny Mountains posed the greatest barrier to westward expansion. The two principal routes were overland from Baltimore to Redstone on the Monongahela River via the National Road; or by the Forbes Road from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. At the end of these two overland treks, the settlers bought or constructed boats and rafts and continued their journey by water.
For more information go to this website:
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=jrdC6xZnIqI
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_River