Many factors contribute to the loss of land along the Mississippi River Delta Gulf Coast. Chief among these are (1) sea level rise, (2) coastal erosion, and (3) geological subsidence. But before we can understand the factors leading to land loss, we need to understand how the land surfaces along the Gulf of Mexico formed in the first place. The first part of this primer examines the formation of the modern Gulf Coast land surface. The later sections of this chapter discuss how the three forces of land loss have acted on Louisiana’s Gulf Coast.
Go to: Section 1.1: The Mississippi River and the Formation of the Gulf Coast of Louisiana