Can you give me a list of US cities that are at or below sea level?

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Request for Question Clarification by tlspiegel-ga on 12 Mar 2006 11:20 PST

Please let me know if the following page answers your question.  If
so, I'll post in the answer box.

http://americasroof.com/lowest.shtml

Best regards,
tlspiegel

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Clarification of Question by fessway-ga on 12 Mar 2006 11:34 PST

Not exactly.  I'd like a list of other cities that are near or below
sea level. Of course New Orleans is one, but are there others?  What
about Sacramento area? I know they are threatened by levee failures
too.  I'd like this list so that I can counter people who say "New
Orleans should not be rebuilt because it's below sea level".

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Request for Question Clarification by tlspiegel-ga on 12 Mar 2006 11:39 PST

Thank you for your clarification.  Perhaps another researcher will
find what you need.

Best regards,
tlspiegel

Hello fessway-ga,

Your original question asked for a list of the US cities that are at
or below sea level. Your clarification explained that you?re
interested in discussing whether New Orleans should be rebuilt
although it?s under sea level.

Below, I?ve listed some resources that show that major US cities that
meet your criteria are Boston, New York, Charleston, Miami, San Jose
and Long Beach. However, this list barely begins to address the issues
raised in your clarification.

Evaluating the dangers facing low-lying cities is a very complex
question. Most of the developed areas along US coastlines face
challenges as global warming is raising sea levels. In addition, you
also raised questions about cities like Sacramento that are on flood
plains. Their elevation is not the most important issue but rather the
necessity of protection from the likelihood of flooding.

The price of your question was minimal but I got swept away with the
wealth of resources that are available for investigating the hazards
faced by many US cities because of their location and changing weather
patterns. I?ve included a spectrum of research avenues to help you
continue your explorations.

Good luck.

~ czh ~



http://yosemite.epa.gov/OAR/globalwarming.nsf/content/ImpactsCoastalZones.html
Global Warming - Impacts
Coastal Zones

The dry land within a few feet above high tide includes forests,
farms, low parts of some port cities, communities that sank after they
were built and are now protected with levees, parts of deltas, and the
bay sides of barrier islands. The low forests and farms are mostly in
the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. Major port cities with low areas
include Boston, New York, Charleston, Miami, and New Orleans. The
average elevation of New Orleans is about 2 meters below sea level,
and parts of Texas City, San Jose, and Long Beach, California are
about one meter below sea level.

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http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/UniqueKeyLookup/SHSU5C3J4E/$File/maps.pdf
Maps of Lands Vulnerable to Sea Level Rise
Maps of Lands Vulnerable to Sea Level Rise: Modeled Elevations along
the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf Coasts

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http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/ResourceCenterPublicationsSeaLevelRiseIndex.html
Sea Level Rise Reports

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http://www.weather.com/newscenter/specialreports/hurricanes/vulnerablecities/
Vulnerable Cities

Long Island
Tampa
Miami
New Orleans
Galveston
Wilmington

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_elevation
List of U.S. states by elevation

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http://nationalmap.gov/
http://nmviewogc.cr.usgs.gov/viewer.htm
The National Map

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http://fermat.nap.edu/html/ndr/sea_level_rise.pdf
Sea Level Rise and Coastal Disasters

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http://www.fema.gov/nfip/tot_claims05.shtm
Flood Insurance
Fiscal Year 2005 Statistics by State (maps)

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http://www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart/pages/riskassesment/floodzonesdefined.jsp
Flood Zones

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http://www.flooddamagedata.org/index.html
Flood Damage in the United States, 1926-2003
A Reanalysis of National Weather Service Estimates.


SEARCH STRATEGY
cities below sea level
flood hazard maps
flood hazard cities us below sea level

Thanks for a good answer for not much money. You got the gist of my
clarification, which was really more than my original question.

tlspiegel's link may not have answered your question, but it certainly
narrows things down.  It notes that only two states, California and
Lousiana have low points below sea level.  So any US cities below sea
level would have to be in one of those two states.

Sacramento is about 20ft above sea level, but the river still flows
down to the bay.  The reason for levees is to control the river on the
very flat plane of the Central Valley.

Thanks for the comments and explanations.