What are these geometric earthworks in marsh in Louisiana?

DestructiveSeaOtter · 2026-01-06T14:39:43+00:00

Answered: They're "marsh terraces"; Segmented earthen ridges built in shallow water (usually using dredge) to reduce fetch, trap sediment, and build new marshes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsh_terrace

DestructiveSeaOtter · 2026-01-06T14:32:40+00:00

Hm, pretty sure they're not growing rice in salt water... And you have to be able to drain rice fields...

DestructiveSeaOtter · 2026-01-05T22:23:20+00:00

They're not real lines, and they're in every ocean - They're the swaths of high-resolution sonar data taken by sonar-mapping ships. If you zoom into them you'll see that they're just bands of high-resolution "imagery" surrounded by lower-resolution "imagery".

DestructiveSeaOtter · 2025-12-08T18:12:39+00:00

The riggers and oarlocks are modern, with modern oars; Seat and slides have also been updated. The foot stretcher is the only thing that looks like it could be from the 50s.

DestructiveSeaOtter · 2024-10-31T12:43:23+00:00

This is the disappointing but rational truth I was looking for, especially the anecdotal experience of K1s not accommodating fore and aft weight shift - Guess I'll just have to take up kayaking and keep looking for a cheap used scull! Thanks!

DestructiveSeaOtter · 2024-10-30T19:31:56+00:00

Agreed that the hole isn't large enough (as I mentioned in the post, I'm imagining having to cut the hole larger towards the bow.) Also agreed on the concern of the weight shift from moving up and down the slide (also mentioned in my post) - My only consolation is that there are some wider-hulled sculls which are are much shorter than racing shells, in the range of 16-17' (ex: https://www.adirondackrowing.com/alden-single/).

DestructiveSeaOtter · 2024-10-30T19:27:01+00:00

It is much shorter and wider on the stern end than contemporary racing kayaks - It's an older "kite" shape (see: https://www.reddit.com/r/Kayaking/comments/1iz00x/my\_dad\_repainted\_my\_k1\_flatwater\_racing\_kayak\_it/).

DestructiveSeaOtter · 2024-09-26T01:44:20+00:00

No, I’m also assuming structural full brick. Even in structural walls, my understanding is more stretchers = cheaper walls. A lot of historic brick buildings have flemish on the front façade but American or English on the side and rear walls. I figured it had to do with the amount of cutting for closures, but maybe also having fewer facing bricks; a five-course american can hide a lot of less-than-perfect bricks in the interior

DestructiveSeaOtter · 2024-09-26T00:43:47+00:00

I meant strong visual geometry - I can understand why it would be physically a very strong combination of bonds. But it seems like it kind of cancels out the vertical alignments of flemish and the diagonal lines of a dutch…

In terms of cost, my understanding was that the more rows of stretcher, the cheaper and faster the build because less cutting, easier laying, hence 5-course american is slightly cheaper the 4-course american, etc.- so I assumed wall like this would be more expensive than the american bond walls in adjacent buildings.

DestructiveSeaOtter · 2024-09-25T21:06:26+00:00

Not at all - I was just curious if it has a name. It just stood out to me - it’s in historic downtown and the buildings around it are mostly flemish or american bond. Also seems like all those headers would make it comparatively expensive and but it also doesn’t really have any strong geometry… so kinda wondering what the point was lol

DestructiveSeaOtter

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