The Mississippi River Delta and The Nile River Delta: Notes for

The Mississippi River Delta andThe Mississippi River Delta andThe Nile River Delta:The Nile River Delta:

Note for the Note for the Atchafalaya Atchafalaya River DebateRiver Debate

ByCharles William Johnson

Earth/matriXScience TodayISSN 1526-3312P.O. Box 231126New Orleans, Louisiana 70183-1126 USA

www.earthmatrix.com

©2011 Copyrighted by Charles William Johnson

Projections state that the MississippiRiver Delta will be expanded asthe Atchafalaya River becomes possibly the main flow for theriver to the Gulf of Mexico sometime in the future.

Mississippi River Delta29.10N 89.15W

Nile River Delta30.10N 31.06E

The reflexive symmetry of these two principal rivers onEarth, at nearly 120 degreesdistance from one anotherchallenges the ideas ofcontinental drift theory.

Atchafalaya River

Mississippi River

Projections state that the Mississippi River Delta will be expanded as theAtchafalaya River becomes possibly the main flow for the river to the Gulf ofMexico some time in the future. Right now, due to the overflowing MississippiRiver Basin, the locks at the Morganza Spillway are being opened to allow “3,000square miles of verdant, sparsely populated farmland” to flood. This is done in aneffort to drain some of the Mississippi River’s overflowing waters so that floodingdoes not occur in the towns of Baton Rouge and New Orleans.According to Time magazine, “each year, the federal government sends writtennotices warning people within the Atchafalaya River basin that the Morganza couldbe opend” [www.time.com].


Atchafalaya River

Mississippi River

“Water diverted from the MississippiRiver spills through a bay in the

Morganza Spillway in Morganza,Louisiana”.

The projections of the Mississippi River show that it will change its course towardsthe Atchafalaya River. Possibly engineering works should begin that would allowthis natural change to occur.

The symmetry with the Nile River’s delta reflects just such a natural change.Attempting to delay or avoid a natural change in the Mississippi River’s coursemay become a losing battle against Nature. The current possibility of another one-hundred years’ flood today [15 May, 2011] may be a lesson in learning how to helpthe river acquire its natural course. Undoubtedly, the extensive and complex leveesystem that exists now is a means to delaying and avoiding the course that watertakes on Earth.

Understanding that the same/similar forces of water activity of the Nile River Deltaare present in the Mississippi River Delta might help us conceptualize the way weview the development of the Mississippi’s course. And, instead of viewing itschange in course towards the Atchafalaya River as an aberration of Nature, wemight come to understand that it is a natural change, in fact, a necessary change.

Estimates of the thousands of people and buildings to be affected with the openingof the Morganza Spillway are shocking. The opening of the Morganza Spillwayoccurred only once before, in 1973. It is difficult to accept the idea that people’shomes and well-being can be affected in this conscious manner, simply by making adecision to open some floodgates. It seems easier to accept such tragedies when theycome on the heels of natural disasters. But, the question is what is exactly defined as“natural”.

The fact that the Mighty Mississippi River is pushing its way South, constantlythreatening to change its natural course and invade the Atchafalaya River Basin maybe telling us something that we do not want to hear. The delta area of the MississippiRiver is actually expanding along a pattern found similarly to its sister river: the NileRiver of Egypt.

Today’s geographical theses of continental drift theory cannot identify the conceptof symmetry as expressed in my studies about the cosmogeography of eventpointsand extremepoints. Continental drift theory denies the concept of symmetry, andemphasizes the theses about randomly drifting continents. But, in my view, thecontinents reflect a very well-defined symmetry in their geometrical composition. Inthis commentary, I examine one of those examples of eventpoint cosmogeography:the comparison of the Mississippi River Delta and the Nile River Delta.

Caribbean Sea

Gulf of Mexico

The Mississippi River/Delta Direction of FlowThe Mississippi River/Delta Direction of Flowand the Gulf of Mexico with the Caribbean Sea Combinedand the Gulf of Mexico with the Caribbean Sea Combined

Mississippi River/Delta

Mediterranean Sea

The Nile River/Delta and the Mediterranean SeaThe Nile River/Delta and the Mediterranean Sea

Nile River/Delta

Mediterranean Sea

Black Sea

The Nile River/Delta and the Mediterranean SeaThe Nile River/Delta and the Mediterranean Seawith the Black Sea Combinedwith the Black Sea Combined

Nile River/DeltaThe symmetry between the two rivers/deltas andtheir respective large water bodies is remarkable.The symmetry becomes even more suggestive

when the Black Sea is combined with theMediterranean Sea.

The comparison of the Mississippi River Delta and the Nile River Delta may becarried out on various levels from different perspectives. As shown here, the twodeltas are nearly 120 degrees apart along nearly the same latitude. Between them,they mark off one-third and two-thirds of the globe along that latitudinal corridor.

From the following illustrations, it becomes obvious that their relationship to anotherprincipal river, the Ganges River, marks off multiples of twenty degrees latitude.Also, they are related to large bodies of water with similar lengths. The MississippiRiver Delta empties into the Gulf of Mexico, which when combined with theCaribbean Sea, comprises a length of a body of water 4038 kilometers. The NileRiver Delta empties into the Mediterranean Sea which when combined with theBlack Sea, comprises a length of a body of water 4084 kilometers.

The symmetries do not stop there in relation to the large bodies of water into whichthey empty: they both illustrate a reflexive symmetry in that the Mississippi flowsfrom North to South; the Nile River flows from South to North. View theillustrations in this study for the full impact of these cited symmetries, which arenever discussed in the prevailing literature based on ideas about randomly driftingcontinents.

Width of Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea Combined 4038 4038 kmskms

Miss.R. Comparison of the Widths of theComparison of the Widths of theGulf of Mexico | Caribbean SeaGulf of Mexico | Caribbean Sea

with thewith theMediterranean Sea | Black SeaMediterranean Sea | Black Sea

Width of Gulf of Mediterranean SeaCombined 3724 3724 kmskms

Width of Mediterranean Sea andBlack Sea Combined 4084 4084 kmskms

Nile R.

40384038 kms

40844084 kmsThe symmetry between the two rivers/deltas and their respective

large water bodies take on anexact measurement when the

distances between geographical extreme points are considered.

Gulf of Mexico

Miss. River/Delta

Caribbean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

Nile River/Delta

Black Sea

40384038 kms

40844084 kms

Reflexive Symmetryin the Cosmogeography

of the Earth:the Mississippi River/Delta

Compared to the Nile River/Delta

From the prevailing perspective of continental drift ideas, humankind must struggleagainst Nature and its random acts and disasters. Hence, build levees along theMississippi River Basin, build spillways to keep the delta from expanding, channelwater down the main singular trunk of the Mississippi River Basin that leads to theGulf of Mexico below New Orleans. The plan for engineering the flow of theMississippi River has meant creating a false singular flow that constantly is beingthreatened whereby the waters are tending towards flowing down the AtchafalayaRiver Basin to the west of the main course of the Mississippi River Basin along thedelta.

From the perspective of eventpoint and extremepoint cosmogeography the analysisshows us that there exists a relationship as of the symmetrical placement of theMississippi River Delta and the Nile River Delta on the Earth. The Nile River Deltais more spread out in a natural manner with its recognizable inverted triangularshape as viewed from today’s maps and globes. And, if the symmetry between thesetwo main river deltas is as it appears then there is much to be learned fromconceptualizing both deltas in relation to one another.


Amazon River Delta0.05 S 50.00W


Distance between Deltas of Mississippi River and Nile River120.21 Degrees

Nearly Exactly One-Third of Globe

120 Degress



ca. 120 Degrees

Symmetries of Principal Rivers on EarthSymmetries of Principal Rivers on EarthExtreme Point Symmetry: Two-Thirds the Distance of the Extreme Point Symmetry: Two-Thirds the Distance of the

Globe’s Circumference --The Pacific Ocean ViewGlobe’s Circumference --The Pacific Ocean View

Miss. R.Nile R. Ganges R.

ca. 120 Degrees

ca. 120 degreesca. 120 degrees ca. 60 ca. 60 degreesdegrees

ca. 180 degreesca. 180 degrees

Symmetries of Principal Rivers on EarthSymmetries of Principal Rivers on EarthExtreme Point: Half the Distance of the Globe’s CircumferenceExtreme Point: Half the Distance of the Globe’s Circumference

Mississippi River/Delta to Nile River/Delta = ca. 120 degreesNile River/Delta to Ganges River/Delta = ca. 60 degrees

Miss. R. Nile R. Ganges R.

Gulf of Mexico

Caribbean Sea


Mediterranean Sea

Nile River/Delta

Inverted Map of the Mississippi River/Delta

and theGulf of Mexico and

the Caribbean SeaCompared to the

Nile River/Delta and theMediterranean Sea

Gulf of Mexico

Caribbean Sea


Mediterranean Sea

Nile River/Delta

Inverted Map of the Nile River/Delta

and theMediterranean Sea

Compared to theMississippi River/Delta

and the Gulf of Mexico with theCaribbean Sea

The reflexive symmetry between these two deltas, as their symmetrical placement onthe globe should teach us that the natural expansion of the Mississippi River Deltatowards the Atchafalaya River Basin is something that requires different engineeringstudies as those conceived to date. It is unadvisable to continue to attempt to holdback the natural flow of the Mississippi River as done until now. It is necessary toconsider a controlled flow but in relationship to the natural flow of the river and thenatural expansion of its delta. And, this may reflect a similar pattern of a delta asfound in the Nile River Delta, in a similar triangular shape.

It is difficult to suggest such an idea, because precisely thousands of people live inthe area now being flooded to avoid greater flooding in the Baton Rouge and NewOrleans area. But, the case may be that it is impossible to continue to hold back thecreeping delta of the Mississippi River. Possibly maybe an engineering feat could beproposed to divert the flow or part of the Mighty Mississippi’s flow through theAtchafalaya River without flooding the entire basin or nearby adjacent lands. Thatwould be precisely the purpose of a distinct engineering study with a differentperspective.

Once we realize that the reflexive symmetry of the Mississippi River Delta and theNile River Delta reflect the same/similar forces at work, then undoubtedly it is easy

Outline of Mississippi River/DeltaGulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea

Outline of Nile River/Delta and theMediterranean Sea and the Black Sea

to understand that the Mississippi delta is probably carving out a similar triangularshape as in the Nile delta. In fact, even the distance between the base of the Niledelta is apparently similar to the distance being carved out between the mouth of theMIssissippi River and the mouth of the Atchafalaya River or thereabouts.

Again, both reflect a similar placement on the Earth’s surface and with regard to asimilar kind of interaction between land mass and water mass. The forces at work inthe Nile River basin and delta are the same/similar forces at work in the MississippiRiver basin and delta, in the sense that they represent reflexive eventpoint andextremepoint coordinates.

Think about it. By having created the systems of levees and spillways. avoidingfloods and promoting flooding respectively, the water flow of the Mississippi Riverhas avoided the creation of its natural delta. Water is siphoned off from the river toPonchartrain Lake above New Orleans and then to the Gulf of Mexico; or, towardsthe Gulf of Mexico from the Atchafalaya River basin. In either case, the MississippiRiver’s flow in thus unable to carve out its natural delta. The ensuing problems ofland erosion and extreme sediment of soil are now becoming even more complicatedas they are not allowed to form naturally.

I am not saying that this is the answer to the problem of flooding along theMississippi River; that is for the engineers to design. However, the theoretical and

Overlay of the Outline of the Mississippi River/DeltaGulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Seawiththe Outline of Nile River/Delta and theMediterranean Sea and the Black Sea



practical outlook that has been in place for nearly a century now, ideas based upondrifting continents and random acts of Nature, may simply be wrong. If we see norelationship between the deltas of the Mississippi River and the Nile River, then wewill not be looking for them, and we may not be able to understand how these twodeltas are in fact related. The forces that carve one and the same/similar forces thatcarve out the other. Know one, you know the other.

Obviously there are distinctions. The Nile Delta has had its own share of humanengineering projects that affected its natural development. The arc-shaped Nile deltahas its own problems due to the construction of the Aswan High Dam, whereby thesoils of the floodplains have become poorer with extremely deep topsoil deposits.There is erosion along the outer edges of the Nile Delta no doubt. There areproblems of salinity as well. Even the demise of the Nile Delta is projected to occurat its present rate somewhere at mid millenium.

The idea is to explore how the Mississippi Delta has been unable to develop its owndistribution of waters through its floodplains, and in fact how its natural flow isbeing harnessed to its own detriment and natural development.

In summary, the analytical proposal in this study is to examine the possibleinterrelationship of two eventpoints | extremepoints in the example of the MississippiRiver Delta and the Nile River Delta. In the case of the Mississippi Delta thepurpose is to examine the relationship of the Atchafalaya River basin as part of theMississippi delta’s natural development.

But, if you think each one of these rivers and their respective deltas are unrelated,and that each one is on a drifting continent randomly placed and randomly traversingthe globe, well, any knowledge about their nature and conditions of existence maybe wanting.

The examples of symmetry presented in this brief case study are only a few of themany other examples presented in my book entitled Eventpoint Cosmogeography.This book is full of hundreds of examples like the one presented here regardingsymmetries in their land mass and water mass.

www.earthmatrix.com

Symmetries of Principal Rivers on EarthSymmetries of Principal Rivers on EarthNote Underwater Oceanic Ridges in CirclesNote Underwater Oceanic Ridges in Circles

The Mississippi River Delta andThe Mississippi River Delta andThe Nile River Delta:The Nile River Delta:Notes for the Notes for the Atchafalaya Atchafalaya River DebateRiver Debate

ByCharles William Johnson

Earth/matriXScience Today

ISSN 1526-3312

P.O. Box 231126New Orleans, Louisiana 70183-1126 USA

www.earthmatrix.com

©2011 Copyrighted by Charles William Johnson

Documents

The Mississippi River Delta and The Nile River Delta: Notes for