Thread: River straightening

What is the main reason for river straightening? Is it to control flooding?

Thanks

More likely, so that the edges of fields can be straighter, and less land is unusable.

I thought it was mostly to make it easier to navigate for barge and other water traffic.

Yes that seems logical, too. I hadn't considered that alternative.

Originally Posted by Lynx_Fox

I thought it was mostly to make it easier to navigate for barge and other water traffic.

Easier is both in the sense of reducing the distance to be travelled and in eliminating much twisting and turning in route. This should also render it safer, since collisions are less likely.

The efforts of the Army Corps of Engineers in flood control and straightening on the Mississipi are, I believe, generally credited with increasing the severity and impact of floods.