Mississippi River Delta
As the Mississippi River enters the Gulf of Mexico, it loses energy and dumps its load
of sediment that it has carried on its journey through the middle of the North American
continent. This pile of sediment, or mud, accumulates over the years building up the delta
front. As one part of the delta becomes clogged with sediment, the delta front will migrate
in search of new areas to grow. The area shown in this false-color image is the currently
active delta front of the Mississippi. The migratory nature of the delta forms natural
traps for oil. Most of the land in the image consists of mud flats and marsh lands.
There is little human settlement in this area due to the instability of the sediments.
The main shipping channel of the Mississippi River is the broad stripe running northwest
to southeast. This scene covers an area of 54 by 57 km, and was acquired on May 24, 2001
by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer(ASTER)
aboard NASA's Terra satellite.