No, Louisiana Isn't 'Losing Its Boot'

Last week’s storms in Louisiana, which killed at least 13 people and forced 20,000 more from their homes, dumped nearly 30 inches of precipitation on some parts of the state in a mere three days. Images from around Baton Rouge—entire neighborhoods water-locked out of access roads, families boating to safety, flood lines up to the roof—made it very easy to imagine the region as entirely underwater.

Which is probably why a certain misleading map, embedded in the tweet below, is making the rounds on the Internet. In it, the famous outline of Louisiana has been redrawn to better represent how much of its land has been supposedly lost to water. It’s a very jarring image: Compared to the classic boot-shaped-state taught to every American elementary-schooler, it shows a landscape apparently ravaged by water’s inland creep. Practically the whole middle of the state’s “foot” is missing. The Delta is reduced to a few scrawny bird-toes. Its heel has taken a significant shave.