ABSTRACT
New Orleans lies not on the ancient, solid North American lithosphere but on a thin, soft alluvial deposit cast out recently upon the continent's margin. The city has occupied this semi-earthen surface for roughly 6 percent of the lifespan of its underlying geology, something few other major cities can claim. Certain oak trees in City Park today have been growing for about one-tenth of the age of their underlying soil; some aged citizens have personally witnessed fully one-fiftieth of the region's geological existence. Mississippi Delta ranks as one of the best examples of exactly that: a river-dominated, multi-lobe delta protruding into a sea. New Orleans represents one of the very few metropolises to occupy such a dynamic young feature. By 1700, most of the delta's landscape features had reached a developmental stage that would be recognizable today.
