Patrick Semansky / AP
For the first time since 1973, The Mississippi River's Morganza Spillway was opened on Saturday in Louisiana's Cajun country. Pressurized water spurted out of the spillway, spraying frothy waters while fish jumped six feet into the air. Water will flow from the Morganza's previously dry channel for 20 miles into the Atchafalaya Basin, and then on into Morgan City, a small community of 12,000 people that thrives on its oil and seafood businesses, both of which will no doubt be affected by the flood. The spillway was opened purposely to divert floodwaters from Baton Rouge and New Orleans, home to large oil refineries and chemical plants along the lower Mississippi. If they had not opened the Morganza, New Orleans could have potentially seen floods worse than those caused by Hurricane Katrina. The floodgate could be open for weeks until the waters subside.