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New
Orleans is a major United States port city
and the largest city in Louisiana. It is the center of
the New Orleans metropolitan area.
New Orleans is located in southeastern
Louisiana, straddling the Mississippi River. It is coextensive
with Orleans Parish, meaning that the boundaries of the
city and the parish are the same.] It is bounded by
the parishes of St. Tammany (north), St. Bernard (east),
Plaquemines (south), and Jefferson (south and west).
Lake Pontchartrain, part of which is included in the
city limits, lies to the north, and Lake Borgne lies
to the east.
The city is named after Philippe
II, Duc d'Orléans,
Regent of France, and is one of the oldest cities in
the United States. It is well known for its multicultural
heritage, cuisine, architecture, music (particularly
as the birthplace of jazz),] and its annual Mardi
Gras and other celebrations and festivals. The city is
often referred to as the "most unique" city
in America.
Geography
A true-color satellite image of New Orleans taken on
NASA's Landsat 7New Orleans is located at 29°57′53″N,
90°4′14″W (29.964722, −90.070556)[26]
on the banks of the Mississippi River, approximately
105 miles (169 km) upriver from the Gulf of Mexico. According
to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total
area of 350.2 square miles (907 km²), of which 180.56
square miles (467.6 km²), or 51.55%, is land.
The city is located in the Mississippi River Delta on
the east and west banks of the Mississippi River and
south of Lake Pontchartrain. The area along the river
is characterized by ridges and hollows.
Elevation of New OrleansNew Orleans was originally settled
on the natural levees or high ground along the Mississippi
River. In fact, when the capital of French Louisiana
was moved from Mobile, Alabama to New Orleans, the
French colonial government cited New Orleans' inland
location as one of the reasons for the move as it would
be less vulnerable to hurricanes.[28] After the Flood
Control Act of 1965, the US Army Corps built floodwalls
and man-made levees around a much larger geographic
footprint that included previous marshland and swamp.
Whether or not this human interference has caused subsidence
is a topic of debate. A study by the Geological Society
of America reported
“ While erosion and wetland
loss are huge problems along Louisiana's coast, the
basement 30 to 50 feet (15 m) beneath much of the Mississippi
Delta has been highly stable for the past 8,000 years
with negligible subsidence rates.
Large portions of Orleans, St. Bernard,
and Jefferson parishes are currently below sea level — and
continue to sink. New Orleans is built on thousands of
feet of soft sand, silt, and clay. Subsidence, or settling
of the ground surface, occurs naturally due to the consolidation
and oxidation of organic soils (called “marsh” in
New Orleans) and local groundwater pumping. In the past,
flooding and deposition of sediments from the Mississippi
River counterbalanced the natural subsidence, leaving
southeast Louisiana at or above sea level. However, due
to major flood control structures being built upstream
on the Mississippi River and levees being built around
New Orleans, fresh layers of sediment are not replenishing
the ground lost by subsidence. ”
Vertical cross-section of New Orleans, showing maximum
levee height of 23 feet (7 m).A recent study by Tulane
and Xavier University notes that 51% of New Orleans is
at or above sea level, with the more densely populated
areas generally on higher ground. The average elevation
of the city is currently between one and two feet (0.5
m) below sea level, with some portions of the city as
high as 16 feet (5 m) and others as low as 10 feet (3
m) below sea level.
In 2005, storm surge from Hurricane
Katrina caused catastrophic failure of the federally
designed and built levees, flooding 80% of the city.
A report by the American Society of Civil Engineers
says that "had the levees and
floodwalls not failed and had the pump stations operated,
nearly two-thirds of the deaths would not have occurred".
New Orleans has always had to consider
the risk of hurricanes, but the risks are dramatically
greater today due to coastal erosion from human interference.
Since the beginning of the 20th century it has been
estimated that Louisiana has lost 2,000 square miles
(5,000 km²) of coast
(including many of its barrier islands) which once protected
New Orleans against storm surge. Following Hurricane
Katrina, the Army Corps of Engineers has instituted massive
levee repair and hurricane protection measures to protect
the city. By 2011 the city of New Orleans is planned
to have 100-year flood protection (meaning protection
against the worst storm that would occur in an average
100-year period).[citation needed]
In 2006, Louisiana voters overwhelmingly
adopted an amendment to the state's constitution to dedicate
all revenues from off shore drilling to restore Louisiana's
eroding coast line. Congress has allocated $7 billion
to bolster New Orleans' flood protection.
Climate
The climate of New Orleans is humid
subtropical, with short, generally mild winters and
hot, humid summers. In January, morning lows average
around 43 °F (6 °C),
and daily highs around 62 °F (17 °C). In July,
lows average 74 °F (23 °C), and highs average
91 °F (33 °C). The lowest recorded temperature
was 7 °F (−14 °C) on February 13, 1899.
The highest recorded temperature was 102 °F (39 °C)
on August 22, 1980. The average precipitation is 64.2
inches (1,630 mm) annually; the summer months are the
wettest, while October is the driest month.[37] Precipitation
in winter usually accompanies the passing of a cold front.
Hurricanes pose a severe threat to the area, and the
city is particularly vulnerable because of its low elevation.
According the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the
city is the most vulnerable in the country when it comes
to hurricanes. Since 1965, portions of New Orleans
have been flooded by four different storms: Hurricane
Betsy, Hurricane Georges, Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane
Rita.
New Orleans experiences snowfall
only on rare occasions. A small amount of snow fell
during the 2004 Christmas Eve Snowstorm. On December
25, a combination of rain, sleet, and snow fell on
the city, leaving some bridges icy. Before that, the
last white Christmas was in 1954 and brought 4.5 inches
(11 cm). The last significant snowfall in New Orleans
fell on December 22, 1989, when most of the city received
1–2 inches (2–5
cm) of snow.
Demographics
As of the census] of 2000, there
were 484,674 people, 188,251 households, and 112,950
families residing in the city. The population density
was 2,684.3 inhabitants per square mile (1,036.4 /km²).
There were 215,091 housing units at an average density
of 1,191.3 inhabitants per square mile (460.0 /km²).
The racial makeup of the city was 67.25% African American,
28.05% White, 0.20% Native American, 2.26% Asian, 0.02%
Pacific Islander, 0.93% from other races, and 1.28%
from two or more races. 3.06% of the population were
Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The last population estimate before Hurricane Katrina
was 454,865 as of July 1, 2005.[50] A population analysis
released in August 2007 estimated the population to
be 273,000, 60% of the pre-Katrina population and an
increase of about 50,000 since July 2006.] A September
2007 report by The Greater New Orleans Community Data
Center, which tracks population based on U.S. Postal
Service figures, found that in August 2007, just over
137,000 households received mail. That compares with
about 198,000 households in July 2005, representing
about 70% of pre-Katrina population.
A 2006 study by researchers at Tulane
University and the University of California, Berkeley
determined that there are as many as 10,000 to 14,000
undocumented workers, mostly from Mexico, currently residing
in New Orleans. Janet Murguia, president and chief
executive officer of the National Council of La Raza,
stated that there could be up to 120,000 Hispanic workers
in New Orleans. In June 2007, one study stated that the
hispanic population had risen from 15,000 pre-Katrina
to over 50,000.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) has stated that some public housing developments,
which were originally going to be torn down, are going
to be re-opened temporarily; the public housing developments
will be redeveloped in phases. On March 21, 2007, the
House of Representatives passed a bill blocking any demolition
of housing developments until HUD shows solid plans for
redevelopment, informing HUD that they must contact all
former developments on August 1, 2007 and that the buildings
must be livable by October 2007. The House's measure
must be approved by the United States Senate. Developers
who take advantage of federal tax credits to build other
low income and affordable housing, along with residents'
continued receipt of federal grant money, should help
residents to return to the region.
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