Aftermath of Great Mississippi River Flooding – Bonnet Carre Spillway Last Floodgate Is Closed In Pictures

During the Mississippi River flooding, the US Army Corps of Engineers opened  floodgates of the Bonnet Carre Spillway and later the Morganza Spillway.

The Bonnet Carre Spillway was opened on May 9, to divert flood water from the Mississippi River into Lake Pontchartrain.

330 of the spillway’s 350 bays were opened before the corps started closing them on June 12.

The last 20 bays were closed on Monday.

On May 14, the Morganza floodway was opened to diverted water from the Mississippi into the Atchafalaya River, which carried it into the Gulf of Mexico.

It caused some flooding in the Atchafalaya Basin.

The number of gates opened on the Morganza peaked at 17.

Only one gate remained open as of Monday morning.

This two picture combo shows the Bonnet Carre Spillway, thirty miles upriver from New Orleans, on May 9, 2011, when it was opened to divert rising water from the Mississippi River into Lake Pontchartrain, left, and Monday, June 20, 2011, right, when the last bays were closed, in Norco, La. Corps officials don't think the Missouri River's flood is going to have significant impact on the lower Mississippi. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers workers close the final bays of the Bonnet Carre Spillway just above New Orleans in Norco, Miss., Monday, June 20, 2011. The gates were opened weeks ago, pouring fresh water into Lake Pontchartrain, as high water on the Mississippi River threatened levees. Corps officials don't think the Missouri River's flood is going to have significant impact on the lower Mississippi. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Shore birds hunting for stranded fish fly over a formerly submerged roadway as U.S. Army Corps of Engineers workers close the final bays of the Bonnet Carre Spillway just above New Orleans in Norco, La., Monday, June 20, 2011. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

In this June 16, 2011 photograph this mailbox shows what two weeks under Mississippi River floodwaters can do, as residents of the affected areas begin their cleanup. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

In this June 16, 2011 photograph James Winters walks slowly through the sweltering remains of his Vicksburg, Miss., waterlogged home, wipes the sweat from his brow and ponders if his home of over 20 years, can be saved. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

In this June 16, 2011 photograph the sagging mold covered blades of this ceiling fan in the Vicksburg, Miss., home of James Winters shows the height the Mississippi River floodwaters reached as waters almost reached the roof of the home at its highest crest. (AP Photo/Holbrook Mohr)

The Mississippi River indicator on the new Mississippi River Bridge shows the height of the 2011 record flooding, Thursday, June 16, 2011 in Vicksburg, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Mississippi River Flooding – Louisiana And Mississippi Underwater In Pictures

The floodgate at the Morganza Spillway in Morganza, Louisiana, was opened on Saturday, May 14, 2011.

Please click here for ‘Floodgate At The Morganza Spillway Is Now Opened – Pictures’

Water from the Mississippi River rushes out of open bays on the Morganza Spillway and into a pasture in Morganza, La., Monday, May 16, 2011. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Water from the Mississippi River rushes out of open bays on the Morganza Spillway in Morganza, La., Monday, May 16, 2011. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

After 3 days, the water from the flooded Mississippi River has reached places like Butte LaRose and St. Landry Parish at the northern end of the basin, putting some houses underwater.

Towns and crop lands along the Atchafalaya River basin that are in the path of the diverted flood waters could be flooded as high as 20 feet in coming days.

On Tuesday, the Coast Guard closed a 15-mile stretch of the Mississippi River at Natchez, Mississippi, north of New Orleans.

Vessels were blocked from heading toward the Gulf of Mexico and from returning north after dropping off their freight.

These barges carry corn, wheat, soybean and others from the Midwest to ports near New Orleans, where they get loaded onto huge grain carriers to be exported around the world.

 Below are photos of the flooding along the Mississippi River.

Water rushes over dirt roads inside the Morganza Floodway as water from the flowing floodway heads south near Krotz Springs, Louisiana, May 17, 2011. (REUTERS/Sean Gardner) 

Farmers work as floodwaters from the Mississippi river creep across their fields in Natchez, Miss., Tuesday, May 17, 2011. The Coast Guard said it closed the Mississippi River at the port in Natchez, Miss., on Tuesday because barge traffic could increase pressure on the levees. Heavy flooding from Mississippi tributaries has displaced more than 4,000 in the state, about half of them upstream from Natchez in the Vicksburg area. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Floodwaters from the Mississippi River have closed Highway 61 north of Vicksburg, Miss., Tuesday, May 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Farmers work as floodwaters from the Mississippi river creep across their fields in Natchez, Miss., Tuesday, May 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Flood waters from the Mississippi River creep inland across a field of soybeans in Natchez, Miss., Tuesday, May 17, 2011. The Coast Guard closed the swollen Mississippi River north of New Orleans, halting cargo vessels on the nation's busiest waterway in the latest effort to reduce pressure from rising flood waters. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Barges operate along the flooded Mississippi River near Vicksburg, Miss., Tuesday, May 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Farmers work as flood waters from the Mississippi river creep across their fields in Natchez, Miss., Tuesday, May 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Farmers work as flood waters from the Mississippi river creep across their fields in Natchez, Miss., Tuesday, May 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Flood waters from the Mississippi River have closed Highway 61 north of Natchez, Miss., Tuesday, May 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

The runway at the airport in Vicksburg, Miss., is surrounded by Mississippi river flood waters Tuesday, May 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Flooded homes, including one surrounded by a makeshift levee that failed, top, are seen in Vicksburg, Miss., Tuesday, May 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Floodwaters surround the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad Station just outside a protective floodwall in Vicksburg, Miss., Tuesday, May 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

A business outside the levee south of Vicksburg, Miss., is surrounded by Mississippi river flood waters Tuesday, May 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Flooded crops in Vicksburg, Miss., are pictured Tuesday, May 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

A crane flies over a street sign near a rule measuring the height of the flood waters in feet, in St. Francisville, Louisiana May 17, 2011.(REUTERS/Sean Gardner)