![]() The structures are often monumental in size, enormously complex in engineering, and are substantial in their effect on the natural environment.The Delta’s renowned agricultural productivity is a direct reflection of the region’s fertile alluvial soils, the temperate climate (average yearly temperature of 54-65 degrees F), and the extended growing seasons (200-340 days of frost-free weather annually). The dams, levees, cutoffs, diversions, and other water-control facilities, like the Atchafalaya diversion structures and the Caernarvon freshwater structure of southern Louisiana, are marvels of engineering. The water-control projects of the Mississippi River and its tributaries are manmade wonders within the Delta. Most of the remains of the mound building societies have faded from the landscape or have been bulldozed into the land with the technological advances of the last two centuries. However, the long-term effects these early Indian groups had on the environment pales in comparison with the Euroamerican settlements that followed. As they began to rely on more centralized authority and economic redistribution, their dependence on local resources increased and brought pressure on local resource stores in the surrounding forests, streams, and coastal fisheries. This emergence of maize-based food production changed the social and political fabric of Mississippian society. Slash-and-bum farming techniques eventually gave way to intensive maize cultivation. From Poverty Point’s massive effigy earthworks and adjacent dwelling sites to the monumental flood control devises on the Mississippi River today, natural resources have been used over and over again for ritual, survival, trade, and/or profit.American Indian agricultural practices were probably the single greatest environmental influence before European colonization. The region’s national natural landmarks and state natural areas all attest to the natural processes at work in the Delta.Human manipulation of the environment as a response to these natural processes or as expressions of cultural beliefs can be seen across the Delta landscape. They are found in the hills and elevated tracts.The dynamic character of the Delta’s ever-changing natural processes are found in a variety of fascinating events - the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-1812, the devastating flood of 1927, and the geologic curiosity of Crowley’ s Ridge. In addition to the bottomland hardwood forests in the Delta, the is also home to upland forests of deciduous and coniferous varieties. ![]() More than 20% of the nation’s duck population migrates along the river and one-third of the freshwater fish species in North America live in the river. The river bottoms comprise North America’s largest wetland area and bottomland hardwood forest. ![]() The Mississippi River forms the most important bird and waterfowl migration corridor on the continent. This broad, alluvial valley provides habitat and ecological support for a wide variety of flora, fauna, and aquatic species integral to health of the north American continent. The Lower Mississippi Delta (hereafter referred to as the Delta) is a vast and vital part of the American landscape.
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