Excerpt from Contributions to the Science of Hydraulic EngineeringI give these disagreeable facts in regard to the physical geography of the foundation of New Orleans, and the peculiarities of the current of the mammoth river, which will certainly rearrange all of the materials which compose it, unless it shall be controlled, in order that the absurdity may be made obvious of building superficial levees, wharves, or houses upon the margin of the surface of the water, while this deep and terrific bottom current is left unchecked to undermine and engulf all the vain works of man erected upon stratified alluvium in which no rock is found even at a depth of 630 feet! And also that the minds of those most interested may be prepared to investigate the merits of the plan proposed in this essay for guarding them against this threatened danger.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.