Friday, July 6, 2012

Shoreline

I could close my eyes (often do) and see the typical shoreline in the Lower Mississippi (south of Cairo, IL.)  Natural: a tangle of trees downed and deposited and sand bars (my motel) created by wing dams and natural eddys in river bends, Army Corps of Engineers: various forms of "rip-rap" (rocks and pre-formed slabs of concrete) deposited along countless miles of river to deter erosion.  All of either lines or is inside the equally countless miles of 40 foot-plus levees.  Last year's 400 year flood hit 43 feet .... this year is a drought year and is at 12 feet.





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