Morgan Pritchard- Environment Impacting Culture in New Orleans

 I traveled to New Orleans this weekend and learned a lot about the culture there and how it was influenced by the environment, which I feel relates to discussions from class. I learned that a large portion of the city is below sea level and is surrounded by swamps and bogs. This caused a problem for cemeteries because if they tried to bury people, they would not stay buried for long because of the flooding and rain. Because of this, they created mausoleum-type plots for families to place their loved ones. They call these “cities of the dead” because there are rows and rows of small plots and it is a huge part of the cities' culture. They even offer tours of the cemeteries and it is a huge tourist attraction. I attached a picture below. This shows how an adaptation to their environment influenced the culture there. Another example of them adapting to the environment in Louisiana is the building of a levee system to combat flooding. New Orleans is surrounded by swamp land, the Mississippi River runs through the city, is directly next to a massive lake and the Gulf of Mexico, and is full of smaller bodies of water as well. Because of the proximity to so many large bodies of water and being below sea level, they created a levee system in the city to help with the flooding. This system was recently updated after Katrina and is recognized as one of the most advanced systems in the world currently. Every local that I talked to mentioned Katrina and it has become a huge part of their culture as they spread the stories of the hardships they faced. These show how New Orleans can adapt to its environment and it has become a part of their culture.


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