Tides & Towns
Louisiana · LA

New Orleans

A city half below sea level, between the river and the lake.

Population
383,997 (2020 census)
Founded
1718
Katrina
About 80% flooded

Then

  1. 1718

    Bienville founds New Orleans in the spring, on Chitimacha land.

  2. 1803

    The United States buys the city with the Louisiana Purchase.

  3. 1815

    Andrew Jackson defeats the British on January 8, after the peace treaty has been signed but before word arrives.

  4. 2005

    Hurricane Katrina's surge breaks levees and floodwalls on August 29. About 80 percent of the city floods, and more than 1,300 people die.

Now

Half the city sits at or below sea level, and the land is still sinking. The Port of New Orleans is one of the nation's largest, about 105 miles up the Mississippi from the Gulf.

The tide stations here ring Lake Borgne, Chef Menteur Pass and the eastern shore of Lake Pontchartrain.

9 tide stations around New Orleans

Sources