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'[[Image:Old River Control Structure Complex.jpg|thumb|The Old River Control Structure complex, showing the three [[dam]]s at the outlet to the [[Atchafalaya River]]. View is to the [[east-southeast]]. [[Louisiana]] is on the right and the [[state of Mississippi]] on the left]] The '''Old River Control Structure''' is an artifice built by the [[U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]] at the divergence of the [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] and [[Atchafalaya River]]s in order to maintain the water distribution between the two, at 70% and 30%, respectively. This was done in response to the increasing amounts of water flowing from the Mississippi into the Atchafalaya, due to the latter's shorter and increasingly steeper course to the [[Gulf of Mexico]]. The [[floodgate]] system was completed in 1963. The complex is located at [[river mile]] 315 on the [[lower Mississippi]]—{{convert|315|mi|km|0}} up the river from the Gulf of Mexico. If allowed to flow freely, the Atchafalaya would capture the main flow of the Mississippi, forcing it to bypass its current path through [[Baton Rouge]] and [[New Orleans]]. The likelihood of this event increases each year, and will eventually happen in spite of human efforts. The details of the Old River Control system are explored in the "Atchafalaya" section of the book ''[[The Control of Nature]]'' by [[John McPhee]]. == External links == * [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/content/?050912fr_archive01 The Control of Nature] ''reprinted in [[The New Yorker]]'' *[http://www.americaswetlandresources.com/background_facts/detailedstory/LouisianaRiverControl.html Information, photos, diagrams] *[http://www.tulane.edu/~bfleury/envirobio/enviroweb/FloodControl.htm History, information] *[http://www.johnweeks.com/lower_mississippi/pages/lmiss23.html History, maps] * {{coord|31.0768|-91.5979|region:US_type:landmark|display=title}} == References == * {{cite book | author=McPhee, John | title=The Control of Nature | publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux | year=1989 | month = August | isbn=0-374-12890-1 | edition = 1st Edition | page = 272pp }} * {{cite web | title=Old River Control | work=The Mighty Mississippi River | author=Angert, Joe and Isaac | url=http://users.stlcc.edu/jangert/oldriver/oldriver.html | dateformat=mdy | accessdate=January 30 2009}}. Includes good map and pictures. [[Category:Rivers of Louisiana]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Louisiana]] [[Category:Dikes in the United States]] {{Louisiana-geo-stub}}'